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Superstar Chiranjeevi – who has predominately worked in the Telugu film industry, has been impressing fans for decades now.
The actor, at a recent award show that was also graced by RRR director SS Rajamouli, got teary-eyed as he went down memory lane and recalled the South film industries not being given as much importance as the Hindi one.
In a now-viral video trending on social media, the star got emotional while delivering a speech at an award function, recounting his trip to Delhi to receive a national award for ‘Rudraveena’ (1988). Read on to know all he said and how he feels now that the industries are finally getting their dues.
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In the video shared on social media, Chiranjeevi is heard saying in Telugu, “In 1988, I made a movie called Rudraveena with Naga Babu. It received the Nargis Dutt Award For Best Feature Film On National Integration. We went to Delhi to receive the award.”
Continuing that the awards ceremony was in the evening and it was preceded by high tea in the hall, Chiranjeevi said, “The walls around us were decorated with posters showcasing the grandeur of Indian cinema. There were some brief notes. There were photos of Prithiviraj Kapoor, Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Dharmendra and so on. They showed their pictures, they described them beautifully. They praised various directors and heroines.”
“And we thought they would also talk about South Indian cinema in such great detail. But they just showed a still image of MGR (M G Ramachandran) and Jayalalithaa dancing. They described it as South Indian cinema. And Prem Nazir, who played a hero in a record number of films in the history of Indian cinema, they showed his picture and that was it,” the Acharya actor said with tears in the eyes.
Chiranjeevi then mentioned the names of other renowned actors from the industry such as Dr Rajkumar, Vishnuvardhan, N T Rama Rao, A Nageswara Rao and Sivaji Ganesan who did not get any mention at the event. The ‘Khaidi No. 150’ actor added, “They were demigods to us. And there were no pictures of them. For me, it was humiliating. I felt very sad. They projected only Hindi cinema as Indian cinema. And they dismissed other industries as regional language cinema. They didn’t even bother to acknowledge its contribution.”
Continuing his speech by praising movies like SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali, Baahubali 2, and RRR – which received massive pan-India success and brought pride to Telugu cinema, Chiranjeevi said, “After so many years, today I feel so proud, I can thump my chest. Our industry proved that we are no longer a regional cinema. Telugu cinema has removed these barriers and becomes part of Indian cinema. Everyone is amazed at our success. We have overcome the discrimination. Thanks to ‘Baahubali’, Baahubali 2 and RRR.”
Check out the video here:
While the language debate goes on, Telugu star Chiranjeevi recalled the time South Indian cinema was sidelined at an awards function… pic.twitter.com/sMALFJTldl
— Brut India (@BrutIndia) May 1, 2022
What are your thoughts on the changes happening in the Indian film industry and those originally called ‘regional cinema’ now leading?
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