It was in the year 2007 that he made Shankar Dada Zindabad . And, it’s been after almost two-and-a-half-years of dilly-dallying that Khaidi No. 150 , his 150th film, has happened.
Much has changed since his 149th film, admitted megastar Chiranjeevi, who is eagerly awaiting the January 11 release of his movie, which is a remake of the Tamil film Kathi . “From the film age to the digital age, it’s been quite a transformation but the behaviour before the camera is the same — the ‘lights, sound, camera’ commands by the director,” he said, two days before the release of his film.
Asked about how he felt prancing around with actor Kajal Aggarwal, a girl less about half his age and who has also shared the screen with with his son Ramcharan Tej, Mr. Chiranjeevi he said he did think on those lines, and it was the choice of his producer — in this case his son. “What could I do?” he shrugged.
On how it was getting back to films after almost a decade, the veteran actor said it was but natural. “There is a lull, a political vacuum currently. So what do I do except what I am good at? My focus will be on films for a while now. A few films are in the pipeline — one on freedom fighter Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy, another by director Surendra, and one by Boyapati Srinu which is produced by Geeta Arts. These I will make for sure,” he stated.
Elaborating on this latest film, Mr. Chiranjeevi said Khaidi No. 150 was all about farmers and corporates and how the former were being taken for a ride.
“Whether it is politics or films, I will always be with the people, directly or indirectly,” he said, adding that because it was a film, there would be all the commercial elements in it.