South cinema's megastar Chiranjeevi's real name is Konidela Sivasankara Vara Prasad. He was born on 22 August 1955 in Andhra Pradesh. His mother suggested the screen name 'Chiranjeevi'. The family is a devotee of Lord Hanuman and the mother suggested naming the son Chiranjeevi i.e. 'immortal'.

Chiranjeevi started his film career with Pranam Kharchu released in 1978. Though his real debut film was Punaadhirallu, its release was delayed. Kodama Simham released in 1990 was his first South Indian film, which was dubbed in English.

Mana Puri Pandavulu brought him recognition, while 1983's Kaid made him a superstar. 1991's Gang Leader was his biggest hit. Rudraveena won a National Award and Indhra is considered the biggest blockbuster of his career. He entertained the audience a lot with Shankar Dada MBBS. In the 90s, Chiranjeevi worked in three Hindi films, Pratibandh (1990) starring Juhi Chawla, Aaj Ka Gundaraj (1992) and The Gentleman (1994) also starring Juhi Chawla. He will soon be seen in the film Vishwambhara.

Along with films, Chiranjeevi also entered politics. In 2008, he formed the Praja Rajyam Party, which won 18 seats in the 2009 elections. In 2011, this party merged with the Congress. He was a Rajya Sabha MP from 2012 to 2018 and was also the Union Minister of Tourism.

Chiranjeevi married Surekha, daughter of Allu Ramalingaiah, in 1980. They have three children, Sushmita, Sreeja and actor Ram Charan. Ram Charan and Upasana Kamineni have a daughter. Chiranjeevi is the brother of Pawan Kalyan and Nagendra Babu. Allu Arjun is his nephew and Ram Charan and Arjun are cousins.