Chiranjeevi's apology

Actor Chiranjeevi, who was invited as the chief guest for a promotional function of producer K.S. Rama Rao’s Tej I Love You, took the opportunity to thank the producer for playing such a big part in his career.

“I got the title of ‘Megastar’ through K.S. Rama Rao’s films. Our combination delivered hits like Abhilasha, Challenge, Rakshasudu and Marana Mrudangam,” he said.

The actor recalled how his mother’s wish to see him enact a particular character was made true by Rao. “My mother read the novel Abhilasha written by Yandamuri, in which the protagonist is named Chiranjeevi, and she told me that she wanted the novel to be made into a film, with me in it. When K.S. Rama Rao approached me and said that he wanted to make a film based on this novel, I immediately said yes, without giving it a second thought, because of my mother,” he said.

Chiranjeevi also apologised to the producer for the failure of Stuartpuram Police Station. “The film was to be directed by Yandamuri, whose previous films had not been great successes. So, buyers weren’t interested in our film. Rama Rao proposed to me that we should replace Yandamuri as a director, but I told him to stick with him. The film failed and still I feel that was my mistake — not supporting Rama Rao at that time. I want to apologise to him,” he said.