Farmer, actor, politician: Chiru’s many roles

Hyderabad: Konidela Siva Shankara Vara Prasad is such an uncool name for a movie star but that’s Chiranjeevi true moniker.

Chiranjeevi is the son of a poor constable and was born in a village in Narsapur in Andhra Pradesh’s West Godavari district. “My father had 5 acres of land. He and I used to work on that land together, so I do know a lot about agriculture,” Chiranjeevi has said.

Chiranjeevi did his schooling in Narsapur and then graduated in commerce in Ongole. Enamoured by the glamour of the film world, he headed to Chennai in 1977 and joined an acting school.

When studying at the Film Institute, he had a dream in which Lord Hanuman addressed him as ‘Chiranjeevi’. That’s how he got his new name. He struggled to find a place in the film industry and first did bit roles and was then promoted to villain roles. He finally carved a niche for himself with his dancing and action sequences. After a film career spanning three decades, Chiranjeevi has now entered politics. Politics is not an act, he says.

“I have entertained and enthralled you for the last 30 years in various roles. This is the new role that I am donning now. In this role, there is no scope for acting,” he says.

Chiranjeevi has been awarded the Padma Bhushan for his blood and eye banks across Andhra Pradesh, his biggest achievement in philanthropy. And as he sets foot into the murky world of politics, promising change, Chiru has said that he will fall back on the experience of setting up those same institutions, to carry him through the political world as well.