Both Chiranjeevi and Balakrishna are reaching personal landmarks at the same time and it is politically important.
Birthday boy Nandamuri Balakrishna turned 56 on Friday. The year is special for he hits a century of films in 2016.
Chiranjeevi is past 60 and is all set to do his 150th film. Well past the prime for a hero, you may say. But then in the land where 65-year-old Rajinikanth is king, it is no surprise that both Balakrishna and Chiranjeevi continue to be superstars with a devoted fan following that is the envy of younger heroes.
The careers of Chiranjeevi and Balakrishna in Tollywood have run parallel to each other. What makes the coincidence of reaching a personal landmark at the same time more interesting is that both have kept one leg in the political field.
So it is no surprise that their choices of reel roles are determined by their political affiliation and image. Both Chiru and Balayya, as they are referred to by their admirers, have chosen subjects in a genre they are most comfortable with and what they think their fans will love them in.
Balakrishna's 100th film is called Gautamiputra Satakarni that will tell the story of Gautamiputra, the most powerful ruler of the Satavahana dynasty. It will see him don a historical role, something he has excelled at, just like his father, the late NT Rama Rao.
It will fit in with his political avatar as an MLA of the ruling Telugu Desam in Andhra Pradesh as his character in the movie will focus on Telugu pride.
During the heyday of the Satavahana empire, the kingdom extended from Maharashtra to Kanchipuram in south India and Amaravati flourished during the period, the same region that has been chosen by Balakrishna's brother-in-law, chief minister Chandrababu Naidu as the capital of Andhra Pradesh. Don’t count out political messaging to help the TDP in the movie.
Chiranjeevi is sticking to what he knows best - action. For the last two years, Chiranjeevi has been scouting for a subject that will befit the landmark occasion. Just about every scriptwriter and director in town has narrated a story to the megastar.
He has finally zeroed in on Kathilaantodu which is a remake of the Tamil hit Katthi (which means, the knife) that starred Vijay in a double role. The story focuses on the issue of farmers committing suicide, a subject that will find resonance in both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
And should Chiranjeevi, who is a Congress Rajya Sabha MP now, plan for an active role in Andhra politics in the run-up to the 2019 elections, Kathilaantodu, if made well, could provide the cutting edge.
What is common to both Balakrishna and Chiranjeevi is that their political careers are not going anywhere.
Balakrishna knows he won't be made a minister by Naidu, for fear that he could emerge as an alternate power centre within the TDP. After all, Balayya is the son of NTR, the man who founded the party and there is an aura about him. Balakrishna, though known to be temperamental, has been happy to play along because he knows he does not have the skill sets needed to govern a state.
In any case, Naidu is grooming his son Nara Lokesh to take over from him when the time comes, and Lokesh is married to Balayya's daughter Brahmani. The family that rules together, stays together.
Chiranjeevi's position is a little more tricky. He strode into politics in 2008, aiming to do an NTR in the elections the following year. But his Praja Rajyam Party came a cropper at the electoral box office.
For someone used to superstardom and a happy ending in three hours, a five-year wait in the wilderness was tough. When he realised his political career was going nowhere, he merged his party with the Congress in 2011, getting a berth in the UPA-2 ministry in return.
With the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh reducing Congress to a zero in present-day Andhra Pradesh, Chiranjeevi has nothing much to look forward to politically, if he stays on in the Grand Old Party.
A possibility could be to team up with brother Pawan Kalyan who is likely to go with the BJP in the 2019 polls. A Chiranjeevi-Pawan Kalyan-Narendra Modi combo, with the BJP cadre and fans of both stars rooting for them, could be a potent force electorally.
Like in Tamil Nadu, films and politics have fed off each other in Andhra Pradesh. Which is what makes the films of these two politician-superstars special for more reasons than one. The movies may release in 2017 but they are made with an eye on 2019.
