Happy Birthday Chiranjeevi: Did You Know he was the First South Indian Actor to Attend Oscars?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHIRANJEEVI: Megastar Chiranjeevi enjoys a glorious career and fame that many can only dream of. In his over four-decade-long career, the actor delivered a series of superhits while essaying different genres of roles on the big screen. Even at the peak of his stardom, Chiranjeevi was known to be very simple and humble, a reason why many of his fans treat him as a demi-god. But there are more things to his personality and life than many know.

As Chiranjeevi celebrates his 67th birthday today, we bring you some lesser-known facts about the megastar.

1. Chiranjeevi was born as Konidela Siva Sankara Vara Prasad, but he came to be known by the famous name Chiranjeevi because of his mother’s religious beliefs. She is a staunch devotee of Lord Hanuman, who is said to be immortal according to Hindu mythology. Thus, she advised her son to change his name to Chiranjeevi which means ‘to live forever’.
2. In 1987, Chiranjeevi became the first ever South Indian language film actor to be invited to the Oscars.
3. In 2006, he was conferred the Padma Bhushan for his contributions to Indian cinema.
4. After a successful career in the film, Chiranjeevi entered politics and founded the Praja Rajyam Party, a political party in the state of Andhra Pradesh that was merged with the Congress. He was elected as a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, from Congress in 2012.
5. Chiranjeevi served as the Minister of Tourism for the Government of India from 2012 to 2014. However, the megastar later distanced himself from political activities.
6. Chiranjeevi was also presented with an honorary doctorate by Andhra University for his work in cinema.
7. The superstar has been a host of the Telugu adaptation of the famous show Kaun Banega Crorepati, called Evaru Meelo Koteeswarulu, for its fourth season. The show was aired on Star Maa.
8. Chiranjeevi is the co-owner of the Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters FC along with Akkineni Nagarjuna and Sachin Tendulkar.

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