Balakrishna’s jibe at Chiranjeevi sparks row, Chiranjeevi hits back and says "his ticket hike move helped Veerasimha Reddy"

Balakrishna’s jibe at Chiranjeevi sparks row, Chiranjeevi hits back and says "his ticket hike move helped Veerasimha Reddy"

A fresh controversy has erupted in Andhra Pradesh politics after actor and Telugu Desam Hindupur MLA Nandamuri Balakrishna made sarcastic remarks targeting megastar Chiranjeevi in the state Legislative Assembly. The comments, which quickly drew reactions across political and film circles, appeared to wound Chiranjeevi’s ego, prompting an uncharacteristically sharp rebuttal from the actor-turned-politician despite being abroad.

Balakrishna, known for his aggressive public style, accused Chiranjeevi of unnecessary posturing while stressing issues like the hike in movie ticket prices.

His remarks risk unsettling the fragile balance within the TD–Jana Sena alliance. Chiranjeevi, elder brother of Deputy Chief Minister and Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan, has long shared a tense relationship with Balakrishna, though the two had set aside their decades-old rivalry during the 2024 elections to unite against the YSR Congress Party.

In a press release, Chiranjeevi clarified that his comments on ticket pricing were not self-serving but rooted in his “natural habit” of politeness and mutual respect, whether addressing a Chief Minister or a common man. He dismissed Balakrishna’s sarcasm as unwarranted, stressing that courtesy should not be mistaken for weakness.

Turning the heat back on Balakrishna, Chiranjeevi pointed out that during the YSR Congress regime, it was his own intervention that enabled a ticket price hike benefitting Balakrishna’s film Veerasimha Reddy. In doing so, he reminded his rival that the very policies he advocated had allowed Balakrishna’s film to enjoy commercial gains.

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In a move that further embarrassed the ruling alliance, Chiranjeevi even acknowledged former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy for resolving the ticket issue, indirectly crediting the opposition for supporting the Telugu film industry. This deft strike highlighted both Balakrishna’s reliance on policies Chiranjeevi pushed for and the irony of his criticism.

The spat underscores the persistent undercurrent of rivalry between two of Telugu cinema’s biggest stars, now entrenched in politics. With tensions already high in the TD–Jana Sena partnership, observers fear that such personal clashes could derail the coalition’s common political objectives. What began as a sarcastic jab has now escalated into a full-blown ego clash, threatening to spill beyond cinema and politics into the larger Telugu public sphere.