Chiranjeevi
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Chiranjeevi (disambiguation).
Chiranjeevi
Chiranjeevi in 2013
Union Minister of Culture & Tourism
(Independent Charge)
In office
27 October 2012 – 26 May 2014
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
Preceded by Subodh Kant Sahay
Succeeded by Shripad Yasso Naik
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
In office
3 April 2012 – 2 April 2018
Preceded by Raashid Alvi, INC
Succeeded by Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy, YSRCP [1]
Constituency Andhra Pradesh
Member of Legislative Assembly
Andhra Pradesh
In office
2009–2012
Preceded by M. Venkataramana[2]
Succeeded by Bhumana Karunakar Reddy[3]
Constituency Tirupati
Personal details
Born Konidela Sivasankara Varaprasad[4]
22 August 1955 (age 68)[5]
Mogalthur, Andhra State, India (now in Andhra
Pradesh, India)
Political party Indian National Congress (2011–present)
Other political Praja Rajyam Party (2008–2011)
affiliations
Surekha
Spouse
(m. 1980)
Children 3, including Ram Charan
Relatives See Allu–Konidela family
Residence(s) Hyderabad, India
Sri Y N College
Alma mater
Madras Film Institute
Occupation Film actor
dancer
politician
television host
Awards Padma Vibhushan (2024)
Padma Bhushan (2006)
Full list
Nickname(s) Mega Star,[6] Supreme Hero[7]
Konidela Chiranjeevi (born Konidela Sivasankara Varaprasad; 22 August 1955)
is an Indian actor, film producer and former politician who works predominantly
in Telugu cinema. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential
actors in the history of Indian cinema.[8][9] 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 2024, The Government
of India honoured him with Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian honour.[10][11]
[12]
Earlier In 2006, he was honoured with the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest
civilian award, for his contributions to Indian cinema.[13] In 2013, CNN-IBN named him
as one of "the men who changed the face of the Indian Cinema".[14][15]
Chiranjeevi began his acting career in 1978 with Punadhirallu.[16] However, Pranam
Khareedu was released earlier at the box office.[17] In 1987, he starred
in Swayamkrushi which was dubbed into Russian and was screened at the Moscow
International Film Festival.[18] Chiranjeevi won the 1988 Indian Express Best
Actor Award and the state Nandi Award for Best Actor awards for his performance in
the film.[19][20][21][22] In 1988, he co-produced Rudraveena which won the National Film
Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration.[23][24]
Chiranjeevi's 1992 film Gharana Mogudu was the first Telugu film to collect
over ₹10 crore[25] at the box office.[26][27] The film was screened at the 1993 International
Film Festival of India in the mainstream section.[28] It made Chiranjeevi the highest-
paid actor in India at the time catapulting him to the cover pages of national weekly
magazines in India.[29] The entertainment magazines Filmfare and India Today named
him "Bigger than Bachchan", a reference to Hindi cinema's Amitabh Bachchan.
[30]
News magazine The Week hailed him as "the new money machine".[31] He was
paid ₹1.25 crore, the highest fee for any Indian actor, for the 1992
film Aapadbandhavudu.[27] 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.[32]
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%[33] 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.[34]
