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While Mohan Babu is an industry veteran, Chiranjeevi, who entered filmdom later, outperformed all of his peers and seniors to become the uncrowned king of Telugu cinema before moving into politics.
The disputes between the Megastar and Mohan Babu came to full focus during Telugu cinema’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in January 2007. Mohan Babu was to receive the ‘celebrity award’ at the Telugu cinema industry’s annual celebrations, while Chiranjeevi was to be honored with the ‘legend award.’ In his inimitable flair, Mohan Babu got up on the dais and questioned how an individual qualified for the ‘legend’ award and what efforts were required to receive the lesser ‘celebrity award’.
‘Padma Shree’ Mohan Babu declined to accept the honor, expressing his unhappiness. The event organizers were surprised when Mohan Babu fired from close range, referring to Chiranjeevi as ‘annayya (older brother)’. Mohan Babu was clearly mocking Chiranjeevi because he was his senior. Because everyone in the industry refers to Chiranjeevi as ‘annayya’, Mohan Babu addresses him in the same way to demonstrate the industry’s favoritism towards the mega family.
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