22 August 2009

Chiranjeeva Sukheebhava! This is one of the most common things Telugu people utter when someone seeks their blessings. A similar blessing was ordained upon Telugu movie lovers by Kalamatalli when she consecrated an individual to capture the hearts of millions of Telugu people all over the world on an auspicious day of 22nd August, 1955.

Born into a lower middle class family, Konidela Siva Sankara Vara Prasad gained name and fame as Chiranjeevi (one who lives forever). Chiru, as he is affectionately called among fans and admirers, made his foray into Telugu films in year 1978. Within a matter of few years, Chiranjeevi became a force in the Telugu film industry and redefined the word Heroism. Thanks to his self-made status, it was easier for common audience to see themselves in Chiru.

Chiranjeevi’s strength, as an actor, is his balanced and natural performance. Even while delivering powerful roles (Gang Leader and Tagore), he enacted his scenes through his expressive eyes and impeccable dialog modulation. He created new benchmarks by giving Telugu audience a taste of breathtaking stunts and extra-ordinary and graceful dancing movements. Beyond any shadow of reasonable doubt, he is the greatest dancer in the Indian film history - amongst heroes.

At the peak of commercial success, Chiranjeevi experimented by acting (and sometimes producing) meaningful movies to quench his artistic thirst. Legendary Director K Balachander once opined that Chiranjeevi is a lethal combination of Kamal and Rajni. Another leading Director summed up Chiranjeevi – an audience’s delight (performance), producer’s goldmine (commercial success) and director’s treasure (mine of talent).

Chiranjeevi trumpeted the box office potential of Telugu films across the entire country. One of the leading national magazines wondered - "is he bigger than Bachchan?", when Chiranjeevi became the first Indian hero to have taken 1 crore rupees as remuneration. The successes he delivered at the box office shook the very foundations of Telugu box office with unheard amounts of collections. Even his flop movies attained excellent openings and collections of those movies surpassed the hit movie collections of some of his contemporaries.

Chiranjeevi and Sreekanth Devarakonda

It became customary for media, audience and industry to compare any/every hero, who delivered a hit, to Chiranjeevi. This is a true testament of his status as the biggest and most popular star of his times. This equation began from Superstar Krishna in 1980s and lasted until Jr.NTR in late 2000s. But most leading heroes have gone on record saying that Chiranjeevi is the undisputed emperor of Telugu films and the other positions change on every Friday (with a film release).

After enjoying monopoly as the numero-uno star of Telugu for over 2 decades, Chiranjeevi ventured into political arena. He announced Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) in August 2008 amidst extraordinary fanfare. The elections in 2009, however, did not yield desirable results for Chiranjeevi and his supporters. Although he garnered around 17% of the vote (around 70 lakh voters endorsed in favor of PRP), he could manage only 18 seats in the final tally.

"We learn little from victory, much from defeat" said a great scholar. This is the right time for Chiranjeevi to step back and develop cadre from the grass-root level. Undeterred and unbowed in failure, Chiranjeevi is fighting every criticism and denigration in his own inimitable style. His fans and supporters continue to support him as he is bracing himself to become a formidable force in the political arena.

One of Chiranjeevi’s biggest strengths is presence of astounding fan base among the entire Telugu speaking population spread across the world. On the occasion of Chiru’s 54th birthday, we wish him a very happy birthday and the best of luck for his future endeavors.

Dear Chiru, The important moments in life are not the advertised ones, neither the successes nor the great goals achieved. The real milestones are less prepossessing. They come to the door of memory unannounced and don’t leave the memories. An individual’s life is not measured by his longevity but by the number of people who become integral parts of his/her life without bearing to success or failure. In that respect, you have gained eternal success. We take extreme pride in being referred to as your fans and promise to be with you forever.

A great Telugu poet once said: "Puttedi Endaro, kaani aa puttukanu sardhakam chesukunedi kondaru mahaneeyule". You are one such blessed human being - an epitome of culture and talent. May god bless you with perpetual success and happiness. Once again, we wish you a very happy birthday!

Sreekanth Devarakonda
devarakonda at hotmail dot com