Chiranjeevi (born Konidala Siva Sankara Vara Prasad on 22 August 1955)[1] is an Indian film actor, producer, politician and

a member of the Indian National Cong ress. He is the Minister of State with independent charge for Ministry of Touris m, Government of India.[2] Prior to politics, Chiranjeevi has worked primarily i n Telugu Cinema including Tamil, Kannada and Hindi films. He made his acting deb ut in 1978 through the film Punadhirallu.[3] However, Pranam Khareedu released e arlier at the box office.[4] Owing to his box-office appeal, popular entertainment magazines, Filmfare, and I ndia Today quoted him "Bigger than Bachchan", a reference to Bollywood s Amitabh B achchan.[5] News magazine The Week hailed him as "The new money machine".[6] Gha rana Mogudu, the blockbuster movie was the first Telugu film to gross over 100 m illion rupees at the box office. The film made Chiranjeevi the highest paid acto r in India, of the time, catapulting him to hit the cover pages of noted nationa l weekly magazines in India.[7] In 2013, He inaugurated the Incredible India Exh ibition, a joint participation of the Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Inform ation and Broadcasting at the 66th Cannes Film Festival.[8][9] In a film career spanning thirty years, Chiranjeevi was starred in one fourty ni ne feature films. In 1988, along with his brother Nagendra Babu, he co-produced Rudraveena, which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration.[10] He has won four state Nandi Awards and ten Filmfare Awards Sout h. Chiranjeevi was honoured with the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civili an award, for his contributions towards Indian cinema. In 2006, he was presented an honorary doctorate from Andhra University.[11] In 2013, IBN LIVE named him a s one of "The men who changed the face of the Indian Cinema".[12] Chiranjeevi founded the Chiranjeevi Charitable Foundation, established in 1998, which is involved in humanitarian activities. In 2008, he entered politics by fo rming the Praja Rajyam Party. In the 2009 Andhra Pradesh elections, Chiranjeevi contested from his native place Palakollu and Tirupati. He was defeated by the C ongress party candidate in Palakollu and was elected as a member of the State As sembly from Tirupati constituency. He led the Praja Rajyam Party to emerge as th e third largest party during the same election. Contents 1 Early life and family 2 Acting career 2.1 Early career: 1978 1981 2.2 1982 2.3 1983 2007 3 Political career: 2008 present 4 Humanitarian work 5 Awards, honours and recognitions 6 Awards 7 Notable filmography 8 References 9 External links Early life and family Chiranjeevi was born in Mogalthur, a small village near Narsapur.[13] He was int erested in acting from a very young age. He did his Intermediate in C. S. R. Sha rma College at Ongole.[14] After graduating with a degree in commerce from Y. N. College at Narsapur, Chiranjeevi moved to Chennai and joined the Madras Film In stitute in 1976 to pursue a career in acting.[15] Since his family worshipped An janeya, a Hindu God, his mother advised him to take the screen name of "Chiranje evi".[16] He has two daughters, Sushmita and Sreeja, and a son, Ram Charan Teja. Ram is al

so an actor in Tollywood.[17] One of Chiranjeevi's brothers, Nagendra Babu, is a film producer and also has acted in several films, and his youngest brother, Pa wan Kalyan, is an actor in Tollywood.[17] Allu Aravind, his brother-in-law, is a film producer.[18] Allu Arjun, son of Allu Aravind, is also an actor in Telugu cinema. Acting career Early career: 1978 1981 Chiranjeevi started filming for Pranam Khareedu.[3] However, his first released film was Punadhirallu.[19] Mana Voori Pandavulu, directed by Bapu gave Chiranjee vi recognition in the Indian audience.[15] He played a small role in Tayaramma B angarayya. He also played the anti-hero in films like I Love You and K. Balachan der's Idi Katha Kaadu,[15] starring Kamal Haasan. In a remake of the Tamil film Avargal, Chiranjeevi portrayed the character played by Rajinikanth in the origin al. In 1979, Chiranjeevi had eight major film releases and had it went up to 14 films in the following year.[20][21] He played characters with negative shades i n films like Mosagadu, Rani Kasula Rangamma and the Tamil-Telugu bilingual 47 Na tkal /47 Rojulu directed by K. Balachander.[22] A. Kodandarami Reddy's Nyayam Ka vali (1981) saw him playing an anti-hero once again and his performance was noti ced by the critics.[citation needed] Also in 1981, he appeared as a villain in R anuva Veeran opposite Rajinikanth, which further elevated his status as an antihero.[citation needed] Audience developed a liking for his "ease in dance moveme nts and swashbuckling fights."[19] He was mostly cast in supporting roles and as antagonistic characters during this period. 1982 Chiranjeevi began to appear in lead roles with films such as Intlo Ramayya Veedi lo Krishnayya[17] and Abhilasha.[23] For his role in Mondi Ghatam (1982), his un ique style of acting was much appreciated by the critics. Intlo Ramayya Veedilo Krishnayya (1982), directed by Kodi Ramakrishna, not only strengthened his posit ion as a big star but also brought him lot of laurels.[16] In 1982, he acted in Subhalekha under the direction of K. Viswanath, for which he received his first Filmfare Award. 1983 2007 Khaidi (which was released on 28 October 1983), directed by A. Kodandarami Reddy ,written by Paruchuri Brothers, has forever changed Chiranjeevi's fate.Khaidi wa s a box-office success and Chiranjeevi attained stardom with this movie .[16] Ov er the next three years, Chiranjeevi gradually occupied the top slot.[citation n eeded] In the year 1984, Chiranjeevi continued doing action films and in the pro cess redefined Telugu Film Industry as a dynamic movie industry. Remembering the days of 1985 Nagarjuna, another big star of Telugu film industry says "by the t ime I entered films, he was already a very big star - a man who had mass appeal and a huge fan following..without absolutely anybody's backing, he made it to th e top in the telugu film industry becoming the most popular hero - admired by bo th the masses and the class audience. no artiste today can even dare to dream of reaching the heights chiranjeevi has scaled".[24] Chiranjeevi continued to enjoy commercial success with Manthri Gari Viyyankudu, Sangharshana, Goonda, Challenge, Hero, Donga, Jwala, Adavi Donga, Kondaveeti Raj a, Rakshasudu and Donga Mogudu.[1] In 1985 he received his 2nd Filmfare Best Act or Award (Telugu) for his performance in Vijetha.[25] Chiranjeevi received his f irst Nandi Award for Best Actor for Swayam Krushi (1987) directed by K. Viswanat h. An unusual film for an actor in the early days of his stardom and with the im age of an action hero, this film s box office success proved Chiranjeevi's ability to act in different genres.[26] Chiranjeevi worked in 23 films, most of which were box office hits. He also atte mpted a variety of roles which showed his acting skills. After Khaidi, he had hi ts like Pasivadi Pranam (1987), Yamudiki Mogudu (1988) where he appeared in a du

al role, and Manchi Donga (1988). His film, Rudraveena (1988), not only won the National Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration[10] but also made h im win his second Nandi Award. Its composer Illayaraja and singer S. P. Balasubr ahmanyam won National Film Awards for the same film. Chiranjeevi paired with Sridevi in Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari a socio-fan tasy movie from Tollywood. Directed by K. Raghavendra Rao and produced by Ashwin i Dutt. Other films like Kondaveeti Donga and Raja Vikramarka were also box-offi ce successes. Gang Leader (1991) was a also a hit and critics even called him as the "boss of Telugu cinema".[27] Gharana Mogudu became the first ever Telugu mo vie to gross more than INR 100 million. He acted in Hindi films too. His performances were appreciated in Prathibandh (1 990), which gained him a Filmfare nomination.[citation needed] Aaj Ka Goonda Raj , a remake of his Telugu film and The Gentleman, a Tamil remake also proved to b e successful.[citation needed] In year 1996 he appreared in guest role in Kannad a Film Sipaayi.[citation needed]