People often ask me why I frequently feel the need to comment on Chiru’s outfits. Are they blind? Was his costume designer blind? He had an astounding array of outfits (he needed them to go with the boots) and the style to carry them all off.
He can go from this standard issue hero tight white trousers
To this extremely snug lycra and leg warmers
To this…this….
To this more traditional look for the more mature hero
But in fact, he doesn’t need much of a costume
Or need a costume at all
But you know what I always remember most about Chiranjeevi? How incredibly joyful his dancing is. I love his energy and the way he always looks like he is having the time of his life. And I love the happiness I feel when I watch a Chiru dance number.
Cinema Chaat 
How long am I going to be able to resist clicking on the “or a costume at all” video? You are an evil temptress!
Must…not…see…too much…of…Chiru!
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Resistance is futile Beth! I’ll be writing up that film later in the week and you know you won’t be able to stop yourself. Click now…go on….I DARE YOU!
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Sigh. You know me well. I did indeed click. It was about what I expected, actually, so no heart attack or other medical emergencies occurred during viewing.
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Tollywood had “ruling” tradesman in that era for each area. I think we can safely say “Costume” Krishna is the instigator of most of those costumes on poor Chiranjeevi. They once had a television show about “behind-the-scenes” thing about movies. And “Costume” Krishna explained his process of picking outfits…and we can see all the results on screen.
Also, there is a thing about Lead characters not repeating their outfits. So, there are many many outfits.
I think nobody ever have to search where to find the ‘fashion trends’ started by Chiranjeevi (i.e., his costumes in the non-fantasy non-songs part of the movie). He once had this checked pants in “Bavagaru Bagunnara” (http://youtu.be/TcqoFzrpduw ), and then I had to stab my eyes every time I went out for the next 6 months as those pants were on 60% of the local youth population.
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“Costume” Krishna might be my hero! I’m truly sorry about your checked pants related pain. Even I recoiled when I saw Chiru in Rupert the Bear trousers. However, I have so many questions for Mr CK! Like – did he have to try hard to persuade Chiru to wear his creations? There was a process?? Did it involve alcohol and a revolving wardrobe? And of course – where are the costumes AND the BOOTS now?!?!?! I like to think someone somewhere still prances around in some of the boots, or maybe a silver cape, and does a bit of Megastarring in their living room. Thanks for sharing 😀 Temple
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I’m amazed at how artists like Chiru can transcend geographical boundaries. A big thank you for reviewing so many Indian movies with consistent enthusiasm. I am a Chiru fan myself and I even got his T-shirt printed with a large photo of his Big Boss (1995) movie avatar. I thoroughly enjoy John Jarratt and Mel Gibson’s movies too (Awaiting Tarantino-Jarratt combination).
I felt an urge to read about Kondaveeti Donga today as a song from that film took me back to my childhood days and I wanted to know how others enjoyed the movie and the song in particular. And when I came across your website, I was not only surprised that the review was written by an Australian but also felt very happy as someone from the other end of the Indian Ocean could appreciate Chiru’s movies just like a Telugu person would.
I was watching Nayak today (Ram Charan’s movie) where there is a remixed song “Shubhalekha Raasukunna” which is originally from his dad’s film Kondaveeti Donga. It instantly took me back to those 1990 moments when I was a 6 year old in Vizag. The sunlight used to have a different hue back then or atleast I remember it that way. There were also lots of sparrows which are nomore to be seen these days and almost everywhere I went in Vizag, I could here the Shubhalekha song being played somewhere. The coastal town of Vizag crooned to this song while the waves lapped on our shores gently and I assume people everywhere else in AP would also have been mesmerized by the song due to the lyrics and Ilayaraja’s BG score.
Today, the song again took me back to 1990 Vizag. But your website has doubled the happiness. I have no words to describe this feeling. I wonder how much more you could have enjoyed a Chiranjeevi film if you could understand the dialogues without the subtitles.
Please accept my congratulations and best wishes for your blog. The next time I witness a debate among friends as to who among us is the biggest Chiru fan, I will let them know about Temple Connolly and this blog.
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Hi Bharat 🙂 Thanks for the very kind comment. Your memory of Vizag in the 90s is lovely – thank you so much for sharing that. It’s funny how movies and songs can send us back in time so easily. There are lots of Chiru fans who are way more hardcore than me, but I have huge genuine affection for his movies and his awesome dancing. Happy Megabirthday Month! Temple
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