When Chiranjeevi earned more than Amitabh Bachchan: Lesser-known facts on birthday
Did you know that there was a time when Chiranjeevi earned more than Amitabh Bachchan? On his 66th birthday, here are some lesser-known facts about the actor.
Actor Chiranjeevi, who is inarguably one of the biggest stars of the country, has had his own share of ups and downs. While most people are not alien to his stardom and his rise to the top without having any connections in the industry, very few are aware of some interesting facts about his career. On the occasion of his 66th birthday, here are some lesser-known facts about the Telugu superstar.
First Telugu actor to receive over ₹1 crore remuneration
For his 1992 Telugu film Aapadbandhavudu, directed by K Viswanath, Chiranjeevi was paid a remuneration of ₹1.25 crore. It was supposedly the highest salary ever paid to a Telugu actor at that time. Apparently, he even surpassed Amitabh Bachchan during that phase when the Bollywood megastar was charging ₹1 crore per project.
Chiranjeevi’s shelved Hollywood project
Did you know that Chiranjeevi was supposed to make his Hollywood debut with the film – The Return of the Thief of Baghdad? The film went on the floors in 1999 but for reasons unknown it got shelved eventually.
The rare Oscar honour
Chiranjeevi was the first south Indian actor to be invited to attend Oscar awards ceremony in 1987.
To have a film dubbed and released in English
Chiranjeevi’s 1990 starrer Kodama Simham directed by K Murali Mohan Rao, was the first South Indian movie that was dubbed in English language. The English version was named as Hunters of the Indian Treasure. His other films such as Pasivadi Pranam and Swayamkrushi were also dubbed into Russian language.
Also read: Chiranjeevi, Mohan Babu on a weekend getaway to Sikkim. See pic
First Telugu actor with ₹10 crore box-office share
Chiranjeevi’s 1992 film Gharana Mogudu was a phenomenal success at the box-office. It ended up as the first Telugu film with over ₹10 crore in earnings. In the same year, India Today described Chiranjeevi as ‘Bigger than Bachchan’ and as the highest-paid actor.
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