Chiranjeevi bags best actor awards for his realistic portrayals

Megastar Chiranjeevi, who is celebrating his 68th birthday today, did a few off-beat films amidst his routine commercial potboilers to showcase his acting versatility in the 1980s and early 1990s.

After mainly being restricted to dancing and fighting, he wanted to exploit his histrionic skills and teamed up with legendary producer Edida Nageswara Rao, who is known for path-breaking films like 'Sankarabaranam' and 'Sagara Sangamam,' to deliver two memorable films of his career 'Swayamkrushi' and 'Aapadhbhandhavudu.'  

"No doubt, the megastar took a daring step since he was an undisputed commercial hero in Tollywood after thunderous hits. Nonetheless, he essayed down-to-earth roles in our films and showcased his acting prowess. He used to call our films heart-beat movies instead of off-beat ones," says producer Edida Sriram, son of Edida Nageswara Rao. "We were like an extended family to Chiranjeevi Garu, and he was with us during the funeral of my father and offered us big support," he adds.

Coming to his two different films in his 150-odd films, which fetched him two prestigious best actor Nandi awards and proved that he was actor-par-excellence. "Chiranjeevi observed a real-life cobbler keenly for a few days before breathing life into the role of a cobbler who rises to riches through hard work in our film 'Swayamkrushi.' He started this film after the commercial blockbuster "Pasivadi Pranam,' but he nicely slipped into the down-to-earth role etched by director K Vishwanath. He wore simple attire and changed his body language to fit into this role with ease. There were no prizes for guessing when he bagged the best actor Nandi award for his realistic portrayal," adds Sriram.

On this other off-beat film 'Aapadhbhandavudu,' Edida Sriram adds, "Chiranjeevigaru joined this shooting after delivering record-breaking hit 'Gharana Modugu.' Still, he went in for an image makeover and played a cowherd to perfection. He played a loyal servant to his boss and his daughter (Meenakshi Seshadri) whom he admires a lot. Notably, he again bagged another best actor Nandi award for his close-to-life look and performance and drew loads of appreciation," he adds.

He claims that Chiranjeevi missed the best actor national award by a whisker for his role in 'Aapadhbhandavudu.' "We heard that his name was almost finalized for the best acting honors, but last-minute influences dented his chances," he concludes.