india

Updated: Oct 15, 2019 01:37 IST

Popular Telugu film star and former Union minister K Chiranjeevi on Monday met YSR Congress party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy at the latter’s residence at Tadepalli in Amaravati.

Chiranjeevi, along with his wife Surekha, flew down from Hyderabad to Vijayawada in a special flight to meet the chief minister in the afternoon. They were accorded a warm welcome by Jagan and his wife Bharati, who hosted lunch for the actor couple.

A YSRC leader familiar with the development said there was no political significance to the meeting. “Chiranjeevi came to Amaravati to personally invite the chief minister to watch his latest multi-lingual film “Sye Raa” which has become a big hit,” he said.

The film, starring Chiranjeevi in the lead role of a Rayalasema warlord who fought against the British and leading Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan as his guru, hit the screens on October 2, coinciding with Gandhi Jayanti.

Interestingly, it was Chiranjeevi’s first meeting with Jagan after the latter became the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh in the April 11 assembly elections. He did not even attend the swearing-in ceremony of Jagan though the latter had personally extended an invitation to him.

Chiranjeevi’s younger brother Pawan Kalyan, who floated the Jana Sena Party in 2014, contested the recent assembly elections and made scathing attacks on Jagan. His party, however, won just one assembly seat and drew a blank in the Lok Sabha polls.

Popularly known as megastar in the film industry, Chiranjeevi felicitated Jagan with a bouquet and shawl. He congratulated Jagan on his huge victory in the recent assembly elections.

The actor, who had floated a regional party “Praja Rajyam” in 2008 hoping to cash in on his popularity, failed to make a mark in politics. His party had won just 18 seats in the 294-member assembly of combined AP in 2009 elections.

Later, he merged his party with the Congress. He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 2012 and was inducted into the Manmohan Singh cabinet as minister of state (independent charge) for tourism.

After the Congress party’s debacle in 2014, Chiranjeevi kept himself away from politics, though he continued as an MP till 2018. He returned to the film industry in 2016 and delivered a big hit with his comeback film.

In a recent interview to Ananda Vikatan, a Tamil magazine, Chiranjeevi said politics was not the cup of tea for sensitive people like him. He advised leading Tamil stars Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth to keep away from politics.