Hyderabad: The long-standing camaraderie between Telugu cinema legends Nandamuri Balakrishna and Megastar Chiranjeevi seems to be under strain, as a new twist has emerged in their ongoing episode.

Over the weekend, Hyderabad witnessed an emergency meeting of Chiranjeevi’s fans at a hotel near a blood bank, where representatives from both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana gathered to discuss Balakrishna’s controversial remarks.

During the meeting, fan associations reportedly decided to lodge formal complaints against Balakrishna at Jubilee Hills Police Station on Monday, and extend the move across 300 police stations in both states on Tuesday.

However, upon learning about the escalating plan, Chiranjeevi immediately intervened, advising his followers against taking such extreme steps. The actor reportedly instructed his fans to avoid filing complaints and to exercise restraint. Fan association leaders confirmed that while they had to step back for now, they would not halt their fight altogether.

“We are respecting Chiranjeevi garu’s call for now, but our struggle will continue,” clarified Mohan, leader of the Chiranjeevi Fans Association. Honorary president Ravanam Swami Naidu also announced that the associations would reconvene within two days to decide their next course of action.

The dispute stems from recent discussions in the Assembly regarding past government dealings with the film industry. BJP MLA Kamineni Srinivas sparked controversy by recalling that Balakrishna’s name was not included in the invite list when industry representatives were called to Tadepalli during the previous regime.

He further claimed that it was Chiranjeevi’s strong stance against the government that forced then-Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy to back down. Balakrishna, disagreeing sharply, called Srinivas’s remarks false and disrespectful. He alleged that even the coalition government had placed his name ninth on the FDC meeting list, showing scant respect for him.