Chiranjeevi-Andhravilas

Chiranjeevi

Vasu Reddy from Chicago

Goodwill doesn’t come for free. Lot of hard work and long term commitment provide goodwill to people. There is a lot of intrinsic value if you are a company to have goodwill with your customers. The markets look at goodwill with great interest and even a slightest problem with behavior of company goodwill immediately goes away, and people start shunning the company or a product. India has a lot of brands that have enjoyed great patronage from its people over generations.

Tata is a great name that probably has enjoyed great goodwill with Indians. Tata makes just about every product and is involved in many an enterprise and even today enjoys the great goodwill of people and is very successful in translating its decades long market dominance.

Amitabh Bachchan for decades enjoys goodwill that perhaps no other actor does in India. May be no other actor in the world enjoys the goodwill he has, and continues to enjoy despite the amount of time he has spent on the screen. The intention is not to ignore NTR, ANR, Raj Kumar, MGR, Sivaji Ganesan and many other icons on South Indian cinema. Many great actors we have had and continue to have today. The following NTR enjoyed as an actor translated into him becoming our chief minister and a potent political leader, who then enjoyed the goodwill he had as an actor. The same happened with MGR in Tamil Nadu.

Today the actors don’t make too many movies, as they are perhaps worried about over exposure, where are the older heroes made almost a movie a month when they were at their prime. Today everyone is worried about image, and delivering much money to their pockets. Quality if movies is quite average, while there are several major heroes with their own fan following.

The first movie I saw of Chiranjeevi was Tagore. Many years I had not seen movies except an occasional old movie. I am still searching for the old Devdas, so seeing Tagore, as first Chiranjeevi movie is not a surprise. In fact I did not know anything about him until I saw the movie. I liked the movie very much, and since then I have seen Anji, Indra and some old movies on Television. I did not see his last couple of movies, but once in a while I get to see some old movies on Teja or Gemini.

Since I saw Tagore, and also spend some more time in India I know a lot more about Chiranjeevi, perhaps as much as the next Telugu moviegoer. It is in the past few weeks, he received Padmabhushan award, and mush has been written about him and his service. He has acted in very few movies in the past five years, but continues to enjoy the highest hype for a Telugu hero. His work on blood bank and eye bank are much publicized and recognized. Good deeds both, and they deserve the highest regard for a busy man to take the time to promote social causes. India does have in its culture to hero worship, and Chiranjeevi sure commands great following for his social causes. Admirable as it is, this is a great service irrespective of what people might think is the motive behind his philanthropy.

His daughter’s recent wedding was much celebrated in multiple functions and Chiranjeevi looked happy and gracious. His receiving the Padmabhushan award immediately following his daughter’s wedding was also gracious while he thanked his fans and family for his success. Every possible occasion he seems to display graciousness in receiving honors for his work and contributions.

Much has been written about Chiranjeevi and continues to be written. A man who came from humble beginning, and still holds his parents and family dear and displays affection openly. His behavior is exemplary in public and his continuous admiration of his fans is obvious.

Reaching the heights of fame as he did over the years, and the continued display of respect to his profession is obvious with Chiranjeevi. For those who like the gentleman, he has continued to deliver for almost 30 years. He is in his own league now and continues to grow in stature. May be it is time for him to experiment as Amitabh does, and entertain his fans with display of his talent outside of glamour.

While the movie making has become a difficult task with no new offering in stories or characters that suit the profile of Chiranjeevi, his stature as a personality is getting greater everyday. Exemplary behavior and hard work have earned him great goodwill and adoration of his fans. Here is hoping he will deliver continued philanthropy and guide his fans with good deeds, and make movies that are entertaining. Here is wishing him continued good fortune and fame.