'Furious And Insulted', Chiranjeevi Reveals He Acted In Hindi Films Out Of 'Vengeance'

South cinema has been in the news since SS Rajamouli directorial RRR, starring Ram Charan and Jr NTR, made it to the Oscars in 2023. The movie made Indian cinema proud by winning the Best Original Song for Naatu Naatu at the prestigious award show. Owing to the success, people across the globe recognise India with South Indian movies and not just Hindi films or their actors. However, this was not the case in the 90s according to Chiranjeevi. In a recent interview, the megastar recalled an incident where he felt "furious and insulted" while attending a film festival in Goa in the 90s. 

How did Chiranjeevi feel about seeing mostly Bollywood actors' posters?

Chiranjeevi appeared on a recent episode of Fireside Chat on Aha where he shared that South cinema gets more respect today than it did in the past when Bollywood was synonymous with Indian cinema. Recalling the incident he said, "I remember being invited to a film festival in Goa . I sat down for high tea and saw posters of all the famous North Indian actors on display. The only south Indian actors whose posters were put up were Rajkumar, MGR and two others."

"I felt so bad because where are NTR, ANR, Sivaji Ganesan?" he continued. Chiranjeevi seems to be hinting at the treatment meted out to South actors at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI).

Why Chiranjeevi acted in Bollywood?

Chiranjeevi further expressed that this behaviour made him believe, "they didn't care about the south film industry and out of "vengeance" he acted in few Hindi movies.

He added that the South is a film industry with potential, but they didn't care about them, only Bollywood was Indian according to them. "I was furious and insulted. I acted in films like Pratibandh and Aaj Ka Goonda Raaj out of vengeance to show we have potential. But now the whole world is looking up to us, thanks to directors like SS Rajamouli, Prashanth Neel, Sukumar, Rishab Shetty, Atlee, and Lokesh Kanagaraj," he said.

For the unversed SS Rajamouli, Prashanth Neel, Sukumar, Rishab Shetty, Atlee and Lokesh Kanagaraj are known for their Pan-India movies - RRR, KGF series, Pushpa, Kantara, Jawan and Leo, respectively.

What's next for Chiranjeevi?

The megastar will be next seen in Vishwambhara, directed by Vassishta. The film also stars Trisha, Meenakshi Chaudhary and Kunal Kapoor. The movie is slated to hit the theatres in 2025.