Chiranjeevi (born Konidela Sivasankara Varaprasad; 22 August 1955) is an Indian actor, film producer and former politician. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential actors of Indian cinema. In a career spanning over four decades, he starred in over 150 feature films predominantly in Telugu, as well as some films in Hindi, Tamil and Kannada. Chiranjeevi won the Andhra Pradesh state's highest film award, the Raghupathi Venkaiah Award, three Nandi Awards, and nine Filmfare Awards South including the Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2006, he was honoured with the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian award, for his contributions to Indian cinema. In 2013, CNN-IBN named him as one of "the men who changed the face of the Indian Cinema".
Chiranjeevi began his acting career in 1978 with Punadhirallu. However, Pranam Khareedu was released earlier at the box office. In 1987, he starred in Swayamkrushi which was dubbed into Russian and was screened at the Moscow International Film Festival. Chiranjeevi won the 1988 Indian Express Best Actor Award and the state Nandi Award for Best Actor awards for his performance in the film. In 1988, he co-produced Rudraveena which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration.
Chiranjeevi's 1992 film Gharana Mogudu was the first south Indian film to collect over ₹10 crore at the box office. The film was screened at the 1993 International Film Festival of India in the mainstream section. It made Chiranjeevi the highest-paid actor in India at the time catapulting him to the cover pages of national weekly magazines in India. The entertainment magazines Filmfare and India Today named him "Bigger than Bachchan", a reference to Hindi cinema's Amitabh Bachchan. News magazine The Week hailed him as "the new money machine". He was paid ₹1.25 crore, the highest fee for any Indian actor, for the 1992 film Aapadbandhavudu. In 2002, Chiranjeevi was given the Samman Award for being the highest Income Tax payer for the 1999–2000 assessment year by the Minister of State for Finance.
In 2008, Chiranjeevi founded the Praja Rajyam Party and contested in the 2009 Andhra Pradesh election. The party won 18 out of 294 seats with a vote share of over 16% and was later merged into the Indian National Congress in 2011. Chiranjeevi was appointed as the Minister of Tourism with independent charge in October 2012 and served in that position until May 2014. In 2022, he was awarded the IFFI Indian Film Personality of the Year Award at the 53rd IFFI.
Early life and family
Chiranjeevi was born as Konidela Sivasankara Varaprasad Rao on 22 August 1955 in Mogalthur, a village in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, India. His father Konidela Venkata Rao worked as a constable and was transferred on a regular basis. He spent his childhood in his native village with his grandparents.
Chiranjeevi did his schooling in Nidadavolu, Gurazala, Bapatla, Ponnur, Mangalagiri and Mogalthur. He was an NCC cadet and had participated in the Republic Day Parade in New Delhi in the early '70s. He was interested in acting from a young age. He did his Intermediate at C. S. R. Sarma College in Ongole.
After graduating with a degree in commerce from Sri Y N College at Narsapuram, Chiranjeevi moved to Chennai and joined the Madras Film Institute in 1976 to pursue a career in acting.
Personal life
On 20 February 1980, Chiranjeevi married Surekha, the daughter of Telugu comic actor Allu Ramalingaiah. They have two daughters, Sushmitha and Sreeja, and a son, Ram Charan, also a lead actor in Telugu cinema.
Chiranjeevi's younger brother, Nagendra Babu, is a film producer and actor. His youngest brother, Pawan Kalyan, is an actor-politician who founded Jana Sena, a regional political party. Allu Aravind, his brother-in-law, is a film producer. Chiranjeevi is uncle to the actors Allu Arjun, Allu Sirish, Varun Tej, Niharika, Sai Dharam Tej, and Panja Vaisshnav Tej.
Acting career
1978–1981: Early career
Since his family worshipped Anjaneya, a Hindu deity, his mother advised him to take the screen name "Chiranjeevi", meaning "Immortal", a reference to the belief of Hanuman living forever.
Chiranjeevi started his film career with Punadhirallu. However, his first released film was Pranam Khareedu. Mana Voori Pandavulu, directed by Bapu, gave Chiranjeevi recognition from the Telugu audience. He played a small role in Tayaramma Bangarayya. He played the anti-hero in films I Love You and K. Balachander's Idi Katha Kaadu, starring Kamal Haasan.
In a remake of the Tamil film Avargal, Chiranjeevi portrayed the character played by Rajinikanth in the original. In 1979, Chiranjeevi had eight major film releases and then 14 films in the following year. He played lead antagonist in works such as Mosagadu, Rani Kasula Rangamma, 47 Natkal /47 Rojulu, Nyayam Kavali and Ranuva Veeran.
