Megastar Chiranjeevi has issued a statement hours after Nandamuri Balakrishna invoked his name in the Assembly in the context of criticizing former AP CM, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. Here is what Chiru said:
"Since my name has been mentioned in this matter, I wish to offer an explanation to the public. During the tenure of Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s government in the state, some producers, directors, and representatives of the Film Chamber of the Telugu film industry came to me and said that, in view of the rising cost of film production, it would be good to speak with the state government about increasing movie ticket prices. They requested me to take the initiative in this matter. Those who met me at that time included Mr. S. S. Rajamouli, Mr. Koratala Siva, Mr. Trivikram Srinivas, Mr. Mahesh Babu, Mr. N. T. Rama Rao Jr., Mr. D. V. V. Danayya, the representatives of Mythri Movie Makers, and two or three other prominent people. Based on their suggestion, I spoke over the phone with the then State Cinematography Minister, Mr. Perni Nani. He told me that he would speak to the Chief Minister about the ticket pricing issue and get back to me. As per the Chief Minister’s invitation, I went to his residence. They received me warmly. During the lunch itself, I explained the problems faced by the film industry to him. I told him that people thought there was a communication gap between the industry and him, and that if he gave us some time, we would all come together to meet him.
A few days later, Minister Mr. Perni Nani called me again and said that, since the second wave of COVID was ongoing, it would be better if only five people came. When I said that around ten of us would come, he agreed and fixed the date. At that time, I tried to contact Mr. Balakrishna over the phone but could not reach him. I then asked Mr. Gemini Kiran to go and meet Mr. Balakrishna and inform him. Despite three attempts, he could not meet Mr. Balakrishna either. So, I arranged a flight and, along with Mr. R. Narayana Murthy and a few others, went to meet the Chief Minister. At that meeting, I explained in detail the difficulties faced by the film industry and requested government support. Everyone present there was a witness to this. Because of my initiative, the government agreed to increase movie ticket prices at that time. This decision greatly benefitted the film industry. It was because of this decision that ticket rates could be increased for your Veera Simha Reddy movie as well as for my Waltair Veerayya. This benefitted not only the producers but also the distributors and exhibitors. Whether I speak to the Chief Minister or to a common man, I always conduct myself in my natural manner of showing respect and engaging in a respectful dialogue. Since I am currently not in India, I am making this statement through a press release to inform everyone about the facts of what actually happened."
