Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh Assembly on Thursday witnessed sharp exchanges after film actor and TDP legislator Nandamuri Balakrishna referred to former chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy as a “psycho” while recalling past interactions between the YSRCP government and the Telugu film industry. His comments drew immediate attention, especially as they touched on Megastar Chiranjeevi. During a short discussion on law and order, BJP MLA Kamineni Srinivas said that when Jagan was in power, film stars led by Chiranjeevi had gone to Tadepalli to meet him. Instead of attending, Jagan asked them to speak only with the cinematography minister, he said. According to Srinivas, Chiranjeevi strongly objected, insisting that since he had brought the delegation, the Chief Minister should address them directly.

Following the exchange, Jagan eventually met the film industry representatives, Srinivas told the House.

Balakrishna immediately stood up to counter Srinivas. He said no such strong protest had taken place and maintained that Jagan had indeed insulted the delegation. “The ‘psycho’ only said he wanted them to meet the then cinematography minister. And it is true he insulted Chiranjeevi,” Balakrishna said. Later in the day, Chiranjeevi issued a detailed statement from abroad, saying his name had been mentioned in a ‘sarcastic manner’ during Balakrishna’s speech and that he wished to place the facts before the public.

Chiranjeevi explained that during Jagan’s tenure, producers and directors including Rajamouli, Koratala Siva, Trivikram Srinivas, Mahesh Babu, Jr N T Rama Rao, D V V Danayya, and Mythri Movies representatives had approached him over the rising cost of film production and sought his help in securing higher cinema ticket prices in Andhra Pradesh. He contacted then cinematography minister Perni Venkatramaiah alias Nani, who later arranged a one-on-one luncheon meeting with Jagan at the Chief Minister’s residence.

“The then CM cordially invited me to his residence,” Chiranjeevi said. “At that lunch, I explained the industry’s concerns to Jagan and suggested that if he gave time, we could all meet him together,” Chiranjeevi said.

A few days later, he was asked to bring a small delegation owing to Covid restrictions. “I tried calling Balakrishna and even sent Gemini Kiran to meet him three times but could not reach him. So, I arranged a flight and went with R Narayana Murthy and others to meet the then CM,” he recalled.

Chiranjeevi said he had placed the industry’s problems before Jagan, and as a result, the government agreed to hike ticket prices. “That decision benefited the industry. The increased ticket rates helped not only for my film Waltair Veerayya but also for Balakrishna’s Veerasimha Reddy. Producers, distributors and exhibitors all gained,” he said.

Chiranjeevi added that he always spoke respectfully with chief ministers and the public. “Since I am not in India at present, I wanted to clarify the facts through this release,” he said.