Chiranjeevi unveils ’Praja Rajyam’

Megastar Chiranjeevi formally launched his political party in the holy shrine of Tirupati amidst huge fanfare and extravaganza. He called his party ‘Praja Rajyam’ and said social justice would be its goal.

"It will be a democratic and secular party. It will be people’s party, born from the hearts of people. It will be a party for backward classes, farmers, workers, women and youth," he said, addressing thousands gathered for the launch in Tirupati.

"The party will work for development, modernisation and industrial revolution. Its goal will be santosh and ananda (contentment and happiness) of Andhra Pradesh," he said amid loud cheers from an estimated million people gathered from across Andhra Pradesh.

Chiranjeevi told his fans that he was ‘overwhelmed’ by the support and told the people that he knows what Andhra wants. He called it his ‘duty to serve the people of Andhra Pradesh’.

Broadly outlining the policies of his eagerly awaited party, he said that eliminating poverty, ensuring social equality, rooting out corruption, development of villages on par with urban areas, and providing health and education to all would top the agenda.

Chiru, who declared that he had no rivals in politics, took a swipe at the ruling Congress for selling government land to industries and for acquiring cultivable land for Special Economic Zones (SEZs).

“We have no rivals. Problems are our rivals. We have no rivals because we have no fear and greed. We have entered the battlefield but our battle is against problems. Courage and honesty are our two weapons. We have no leader. All are soldiers. I am also one among you,” he said.

The 53-year-old Megastar and son of a police constable outlined his party’s vision in various sectors and also unveiled the party flag — green and white with the sun in the middle - amidst rapturous applause from the huge gathering.

In his more than hour-long speech, the megastar, however, skirted thorny issues like Telangana statehood demand, naxalism and categorisation of Scheduled Castes, saying a "collective decision" would be taken on these matters after "scientific evaluation".

Megastar arrived at the Avilala Cheruvu in Tirupati at 5.30 pm amidst cheers and screams from all his fans who were waiting since morning. Chiranjeevi , sporting a white shirt, walked up to the grandly-decked dais, waving at fans who could not stop screaming the moment they laid their eyes on the star

Chiranjeevi began his speech by uttering the words and seeking the blessings of "Tirumala Tirupathi Venkatesha." Chiranjeevi, who sounded emotional on seeing such a huge gathering, said, "These eyes of mine are blessed to be witnessing such a wonderful sight."

He also went on to say that he was here to serve the people and told the people that he understood the problems as he too came from a very humble background. The crowd was beyond control and screamed "Jai Chiranjeeva" as he decended upon the temple town of Andhra Pradesh.

Noting that his party would recognise the economically backward in all castes as a separate entity for special treatment, he said it would support these sections in accessing good education and health care.

The organisers had a tough time in controlling the crowd. Thousands of Chiranjeevi fans swamped into the chamber which was alloted for physically challenged people. Repeated appeals by Chiranjeevi’s brother and actor Nagendra Babu to maintain calm during the public meeting went unheeded among the jubilant fans. The police had to resort to lathi charge on three occasions to keep the crowd under control.

Throughout the day, Chiranjeevi’’s movies such as Mutta Mesthri and Indra played on the giant screen as well as the 70 LCD monitors that have been set up at the venue.

A documentary on Chiranjeevi’s achievements and also on his charitable activities were also shown. The people were also treated to a variety of cultural programmes, which mainly revolved around the life and achievements of the megastar, Chiranjeevi.

When Chiru could not afford to buy trousers

Megastar Chiranjeevi, who launched his political party Tuesday, attended college in shorts because his family could not afford to buy even two pairs of trousers.”When I completed my schooling and took admission in intermediate, I only had knickers and it was embarrassing to attend the classes. My mother had no money to buy even two pants for me,” he told a mammoth crowd of nearly one million while launching his party, named Praja Rajyam .

The actor, who bid adieu to film career to enter politics, recalled this to respond to criticism by his rivals that he comes from a glamorous field and hence does not know the problems of the common man.

“Some people ask what I know about politics. They know only one Chiranjeevi. I know people’s sufferings, problems despite living a glamorous life for 30 years. I have seen both the worlds,” he said.

The 53-year-old actor spoke about his birth in a lower middle class family of a police constable in a remote village and his struggle to come up in life.

“I can’t forget the distance my mother used to cover to fetch a pot of water and the difficulties she had to face in running the house,” he said.

The actor recalled that he helped his father in cultivating fields. “Once floods destroyed our crops and a portion of our house. We had to live in one room and for three days we survived on rice ganji,” he said. "I know about Ganji as well as Benzi" said the Megastar.

“When I began my film career, I always played roles which are closer to weaker sections,” he said.

He also became emotional while remembering his father, who passed away earlier this year. “I know his blessings are with me,” said the actor while looking towards the sky.

chiru affect: no room in tirupathi

Megastar Chiranjeevi’s formal political debut at the mega public meeting here on August 26 has created accommodation scarcity in the temple town.

Not fewer than 60,000 pilgrims from different parts of the country and even abroad turn up every day in Tirupati on pilgrimage to Tirumala, the abode of Lord Venkateswara. Hotels and lodges, and other commercial establishments in the town thrive mainly on the patronage of the pilgrims.

It has become particularly hard to find accommodation in Tirumala and at Tirumala during festivals and during consecutive holidays, and even during some weekends.

Tirupati being an educational hub and spiritual centre, the town witnesses a steady stream of scientists and scholars round the year. That being the situation in the normal days, it has now become harder in the past one week for pilgrims, the newlyweds and their relatives in particular, to find accommodation in any hotel or lodge thanks to the maiden public meeting on August 26 by politician Chiranjeevi.

Organisers at the Chiru camp have booked all available rooms in every lodge and hotel in Tirupati and its surroundings. Even the kalayanamandapams – TTD and private – have been booked in advance to accommodate the guests coming to attend the meeting.

"We have booked all available kalayanamandapams in Tirupati for allocation to party supporters," explains N V Prasad, film producer and politician, who is looking after the arrangements for the meeting.

With the meeting being just a couple of days away, preparations are on a fast track. Fans’ associations are busy planning erection of cutouts, posters and welcome arches for putting them at vantage points in the town.

With an estimated 10 lakh people to attend the public meeting, around 1,700 RTC buses are being booked from different places in the State. According to Chiranjeevi’s brotherin- law and advisor Allu Aravind, fans and supporters of Chiranjeevi are forming into groups and engaging special trains to Tirupati from different places in the State. Chiru fans have already booked 15 special trains, hundreds of private buses and 10,000-odd light vehicles to reach Tirupati.

"As per the information we have received at our call centre, which is coordinating the communication, 18 trains have been hired and the figure is likely to go up to 25,"he said.

As for the media arrangements, three coordinators have been appointed to look after, local, state and national mediapersons who will come to cover the event. A request for a full-fledged media centre at the meeting venue has been made to the organisers.

Crackers will be a strict no-no at the maiden public meeting of heroturned- politician Chiranjeevi at Tirupati on August 26. The organisers are swearing by safety and fans have been urged not to bring in firecrackers lest any mishap at the venue give the superstar’s detractors a chance to wag tongues.

Those coming in special trains will be ferried to the venue and to lodging facilities in buses from Renigunta railway station where the specials will terminate. Volunteers are arranging meals, snacks and water for those descending from various parts of the State.

For instance, a leader from West Godavari district has taken on the responsibility of distributing one lakh packets of lemon rice to the audience. Elaborate arrangements are also being made for parking of vehicles.

One lakh people are expected to come from Kadapa alone as it is the nearest district. Large numbers are expected from Nellore, which too is close to the temple town. The greatest number, understandably, will be from Chittoor district in which the town is sited.

Fans from neighbouring States are also expected. A good number of NRIs are already in the the State, visiting various places, before arriving in Tirupati on D day.

Mega power

Leave it to a megastar to draw in the crowds for the first day, first show! But hang on, the show is yet to start and this was more like the muhurat shot for what promises to be Chiru’s latest blockbuster, his political party, Prajarajyam.

And if the unprecedented crowds at the venue at Tirupati; the stampede and the pole climbing to catch a glimpse of the star that resulted; and the people glued to their TV sets all over the state are anything to go by, this might be a hit in the making. Much to the fears of the Congress and Telugu Desam, we may add.

As Chiranjeevi unveiled the party flag amid fireworks and much fanfare, some touted Prajarajyam as a new political force in AP. "I am entering politics to serve you and not to rule you," the star-turned-politician thundered on the microphone and the dialogue unfailingly drew cheers. He even got the flag unfurled by a physically-challenged boy, a filmy, yet touching gesture. Declaring his intentions to serve the underprivileged, he promised better living for minorities, farmers, workers and economically deprived sections. He broadly touched problems of varied sections and promised to bring back gram swaraj to re-design village living. However, the party sidelined Telangana and Naxalism issues terming them ’sensitive’ with an assurance to resolve them amicably.

The Shankar dada transcended from reel to real as he pointed a strong finger at corruption and social injustice, saying, "Due to rampant corruption, the beneficiary is just getting 10 to 15 per cent of the money sanctioned to him by the government," expressing a desire to change that.

Alright then, Chiru sure did manage to attract the masses at this flag off event, but has he managed to impress the classes, who too were intently listening in on his speech on TV? Says Sathish, a pharmaceutical employee, "I am not a big fan of Chiranjeevi, but I was still tempted to watch the event.

It was a huge success and the crowds were enthusiastic. But I think the political agenda could have been more specific rather than being generalised." One also felt here that the contradiction between the star’s reel and real image were somewhat evident. Unlike films like Tagore and Stalin, clippings of which were screened at the venue, where he took on the mighty villains with conviction, in real life, Chiru the politician chose to tread the safe middle path, blaming the system instead of individuals to dampen some charged up fans. Whether this non-combative approach will change as he gets into the thick of things remains to be seen.

To evaluate the actor’s performance, however, one must say he did all the right things, taking stage with confidence and doing the countdown before unfurling his green-white flag with the symbol of the rising sun. He took time to interact with the fans as well. "These were spontaneous crowds unlike stage-managed political rallies. I liked the party name and flag and his idealistic policies.

He will become our beloved politician if he can implement all of his promises," says S Mahendar, an advertising professional. The actor hinted at academic reforms, in what should interest young voters, but as Sanjay, a graduate, feels that he is still confused about voting for Chiranjeevi. "At the moment I am unsure, but I could change my mind in the days to come. He should make the syllabus job-friendly and I want him to do it alone since alliances means compromises." Well, Sir, it looks like people are willing to let their screen-idol do the talking on the real stage, but like we all know, the script’s not going to be a success story without the right dose of action too!

Chiru's tea party

Megastar Chiranjeevi, who has stepped into politics, hosted a tea party for the film fraternity at the Rama Naidu studios at Jubilee Hills on Saturday.

Prominent among those who attended the party were Venkatesh, Nagarjuna, Tarun, Rama Naidu, Tammareddy Bharadwaja, B Gopal, Raghavendra Rao and Kodandarami Reddy.

Interestingly, actor Mohan Babu who is known to have a running a feud with Chiranjeevi also came for the tea party. "He invited me with love and I came," Mohan Babu said.

Balakrishna and Jr. NTR from the Nandamuri clan were conspicuous by their absence. Recently, TDP president Chandrababu Naidu has pulled in NTR family members into the active politics to try out their charisma against the Chiranjeevi factor.

Addressing the film fraternity, actor Chiranjeevi said that even in his political life, he will see to it that the film fraternity gets its due respect. He also explained why he was getting into politics.

The pleasant meeting was not without hiccups though. Some Chiru fans tried to gatecrash the party and reached within touching distance of the man they adored.

Taken aback, Chiranjeevi walked away with the help of those around him but returned quickly to greet them. But for the media, it turned out to be an exasperating evening with the organisers disallowing journalists.

Shiva Balaji engaged to Madhumitha

ollywood’s upcoming actor Shiva Balaji is engaged to Madhumitha on August 21st in a grand function at Golconda Hotel, Hyderabad. The two fell in love with each other during the shoot of a Tamil film English Kadhal.

Siva Balaji, earned a good name and shot to fame with the Telugu film ‘Arya’. Madhumitha too is familiar in Telugu as she played sister to Arjun in ‘Puttintiki Raa Chelli’.

According to Madhumitha, also known as Swapna Madhuri, this is not exactly a love marriage; their relationship is not based on the typical love-at-first-sight experience, but instead, it is more of a friendship which grew stronger over a period of time, during which they developed immense mutual respect and understanding. The decision of marriage was unanimously taken by the couple and their parents.

Siva Balaji said, ‘Presently Madhu is busy with Tamil films. Once she completes all her projects, we will get married. Possibly the marriage would take place either in December or in January. We have not yet decided whether Madhu should continue in films or not.’

Hansika met with an accident

Hansika who is in Hyderabad currently shooting for her film ‘Maska’ met with an accident recently while she was on her way to the shoot.

Luckily, Hansika escaped unharmed except for an injury to her hand. The accident happened near Banjara hills and she was immediately taken to a hospital to be seen to. After tending to her hand, she was released in an hour.

When the unit people came to know of the accident, they insisted that Hansika take rest and cancel the day’s shoot. But Hansika did not feel the accident warranted wasting an entire day of the shoot and the producer’s money and turned up on the sets much to the surprise of everyone. But knowing how dedicated Hansika is when it comes to her profession, it’s not really surprising!!!

"Maska" is produced by Suman Arts and she is cast opposite Raam.