Chiranjeevi is bored of commercial tropes and wants to break clichés, says Kona Venkat
When asked why Chiranjeevi is doing only commercial films now, Kona admitted that even the actor is tired of playing variations of the mass hero. He said, 'Even he feels like, how long will they cut to show a dramatic flashback? He says he can't do it anymore. He also wonders why he can't play a normal character. When will I make new films? I am bored, he says. He wants to break the cliché, break the routine. Do something out of the box. I told him, annayya (brother), you can't do out-of-the-box films, you need to do box office films.'
He then pointed out that while films like Swayam Krushi give them personal satisfaction, he is also liable to ensure that his producer makes profits. 'Take Swayam Krushi (1987) for example, and other films that gave him satisfaction as an actor. What happened to them at the box office? If we can make Swayam Krushi today with a smaller budget, he'd still do it. But it'll run only in multiplexes because the mass audience will wonder why there are no action scenes or item songs.' Kona also pointed out that budgets for films have gone up significantly, with everything taking at least 150-170 days to shoot versus the usual 40 days it once took.
Chiranjeevi's 2023 film Waltair Veerayya was a hit, but Bholaa Shankar failed to make a mark at the box office. He will soon star in Malladi Vassishta's Vishwambhara, which was supposed to be released in theatres for Sankranthi. He has also said yes to films by Anil Ravipudi and Srikanth Odela.
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