Chiranjeevi: 8 Worst Controversies Of The Mega South Star

South megastar Chiranjeevi has often been the talk of the town for his controversial statements and remarks. 

The latest in discussion, is his sexist take on wanting a grandson at home, to carry forward his legacy.

Chiranjeevi recently attended the pre-release event of Brahma Anandam (2025), as the chief guest. His statement about feeling like a  "warden of a ladies' hostel" at home, has sparked controversy, and the internet has not reacted to it kindly.

Chiranjeevi stated, "I keep wishing and telling (Ram) Charan, at least this time, to have a boy so that our legacy continues, but his daughter is the apple of his eye. I'm scared that he might have a girl again."

Ram Charan and his wife Upasana welcomed a baby girl, Klin Kaara, in June 2023.

Apart from their son Ram Charan, Chiranjeevi also has two daughters, Sreeja Konidela and Sushmita Konidela. Sreeja has two daughters, Naviksha and Nivrati; and Sushmita's daughters are Samara and Samhitha.

Amidst the recent backlash trending on social media, here's a look at some of the previous controversial comments made by Chiranjeevi that did not sit well with the masses.

Chiranjeevi And Rajasekhar Feud

Both actors had a verbal spat over the issues of the Movie Artist Association (MAA) when they attended the launch of the 2020 diary of MAA.

Chiranjeevi, who was the founding president of MAA, has made a statement on how any pertaining problems or arguments among MAA members, should be sorted out internally.

This statement made Rajasekhar angry, the then Executive Vice President of MAA, retorted, "If there are small fires in MAA, efforts should be made to put them out immediately instead of allowing them to grow bigger. If there are differences of opinion among the members, they should be discussed and addressed instead of being told to keep quiet. In films, we as heroes speak out against issues. In real life, why should we keep quiet? The problems I am having in MAA are causing problems within my family, and I also met with a car accident recently due to the tensions in MAA", as quoted by The Indian Express.

Rajasekhar had later taken to X, to clear the ongoing controversy, as he said, "There is no misunderstanding or fight between Chiranjeevi, Mohan Babu, and me. I apologize for any inconvenience caused. I have resigned from my post as Executive Vice President. I promise to do whatever I can for the industry on my own. Please don't blow up the issue as a personal fight between me, Chiranjeevi and Mohan Babu."

The Blood Bank Controversy

Actors Rajasekhar and Jeevitha were found guilty in the 2011 defamation case, where they made remarks on irregularities in Chiranjeevi Blood Bank, for the sale of blood in the black market.

The Andhra Pradesh state government had then formed a committee to investigate the alleged claims. Upon finding no financial irregularities, as claimed before, Rajasekhar and Jeevitha were sentenced to one year in jail for defamatory remarks against the blood bank, in 2023.

Chiranjeevi's ongoing feud with Rajasekhar and Jeevitha has been well known in the Telugu film industry.

Vajrotsavam controversy 

Back in 2007, Chiranjeevi was offered the Legendary award at the Vajrotsavam event. The actor had declined the honour, stating that he did not feel he deserved it. He further added that he would accept the award, only when he believes he is worthy of it.

Actor Mohan Babu then raised questions on what are the terms that demarcate the difference between a legend and a celebrity. Mohan Babu had also asked for further clarity on how such titles benefit the film industry.

Last year, Chiranjeevi received the prestigious ANR National Award from Amitabh Bachchan.

Chiranjeevi finally puts full stop to the controversy happened 17 years ago which is stirred by MohanBabu in Vajrotsavam event in 2007 !!

Vajrotsavam event lo Legendary award #Chiranjeevi ki icharu thanaku ivvaledani Mohan Babu controversial speech icharu#MegaStarChiranjeevi… pic.twitter.com/2NmKxcYKmK— Vamc Krishna (@lyf_a_zindagii) October 28, 2024

Recalling the 2007 Vajrotsavam incident, Chiranjeevi had mentioned, "Back then, I felt I couldn't accept the title of a 'Legend' alongside stalwarts like Dr. D. Ramanaidu, DVS Raju, Bapu, and Dasari Narayana Rao. Compared to them, I felt like a newcomer. I saw myself as a contemporary to actors like Venkatesh, Nagarjuna, and Balakrishna. I didn't want to be set apart as a 'Legend' from my peers. So, I placed the award in a capsule, intending to retrieve it 25 years later, during the Telugu cinema centenary, if the industry and my peers felt I was truly deserving."

Chiranjeevi's Covid Scare

Back in 2020, when COVID was at its peak, Chiranjeevi took to social media to share the news of him testing positive. However, soon after, he shared that it was a false alarm due to a false test kit.

He had then gone to meet director  K Vishwanath, without any preventive measure, and this invited wrath from the Telangana health department, as anyone who had tested positive for Covid was required to stay in isolation for 14 days. 

The officials had reportedly complained to Health Minister Etela Rajender.

Chiranjeevi Shoving His Fans At The Airport

In August 2024, a video surfaced on X, where Chiranjeevi was seen exiting the airport with his wife Surekha.

The video went viral when Chiranjeevi was seen pushing an airline employee, who had come to him to take a selfie.

Social media users were appalled at his rude behaviour and criticised him for the same. Some fans defended his actions on the spur of the moment.

Politics In Tollywood Against Chiranjeevi

Back in 2020, Chiranjeevi took the initiative of creating the  CCC trust, to help people from the film industry who had lost jobs during covid. There was a lot of backlash against Chiranjeevi for taking this step, rather than letting MAA handle it.

Soon, when CCC started getting recognition for their work, everyone in the industry rose to take credit for it. Then when they hit a rough patch, people had protested against Chiranjeevi, saying that CCC was not able to provide basic essential items. 

There was also an incident, where the south megastar had requested a meeting with TS CM KCR and AP CM Jagan, to get permission for film shootings. But with covid at its peak back then, people had questioned Chiranjeevi's intentions in his hurry to shoot during such difficult times.

Chiranjeevi and Prithviraj Sukumaran Argument

Prithviraj Sukumaran once spoke about rejecting Chiranjeevi's film offer twice, the reason being Prithviraj being busy with his film  Aadujeevitham - The Goat Life, which had been in production for many years.

Prithviraj had sent at a promotional event,  "I was flattered, the fact that he (Chiranjeevi) thought of me for a big role was like a certificate for me. But I apologised and told him I had just started shooting for this project (Aadujeevitham), for which I had been waiting for a decade. I had to grow a beard and lose weight. He was fine with it."

He added,  "A few years later, I became a director with Lucifer, which was a hit in Kerala. Chiranjeevi sir brought the rights to that film. His team asked me again to consider directing Lucifer's Telugu remake. Again I told him, I would have loved to sir, but there's a big film I'm doing for which I have to grow a beard and lose weight. And he was like, hey, you said the same story last time. I had forgotten that I already used the same excuse. But I hope his team conveyed to him that it was true."

Chiranjeevi Ruining Uday Kiran's Career

Uday Kiran was a massive Telugu star in the early 2000s with films like Tholiprema (1998) and Nuvve Nuvve (2002).

There came a phase when Uday Kiran's films saw a gradual decline. Chiranjeevi, one of the reigning superstars in the South film industry has a certain influence in the industry. 

Speculations were rife that it was because of emerging new faces that Uday Kiran had hit a rough patch, and Chiranjeevi was being wrongfully targeted for the same.

The controversy evolved because of a fallout that Chiranjeevi had with Uday Kiran's family, and then the subsequent failure of Kiran's films. However, no concrete information has been shared on the same.

On the work front, Chiranjeevi's last film was Acharya (2022), his next is Vishwambhara, releasing on Makar Sankranthi in 2025.