Palate Cleanser Week: The *Other* Megastar

A bit of a discussion on Twitter this morning about the plans to celebrate the birthday of Telugu Megastar Chiranjeevi had me realizing, once again, that although I'm well aware of him (I mean, who cannot be?), I've never managed to getting around to seeing one of his films.  I'm going to remedy that in time for the Megabirthday Festivities, but I also realized that, quite honestly, Chiru is a perfect palate cleanser for those moments when you just need a break, when you need cheering up, when you just need to have a smile on your face -- and after four days home sick, boy, did I ever need that today!

Temple from Cinema Chaat kindly made some film recommendations for me, but she also sent me this terrific link to a song from Jebu Donga, which seems to be a Mr. India remake (and which I would gladly see, subtitled or not):

 

 

How can you top tap-dancing Chiru?  Maybe with this, which asks the important question:  "Can any one beat chiranjeevi in dance at the age of 55?"

 

 

I especially loved the commenter who suggested that the only person who could top him would be Chiru himself, in his next film. 

I also couldn't resist this, "Chiru's Cowboy Song":

 

 

 

And how can you leave Kodama Simham without watching this remake of "Cotton-Eyed Joe"?  I know I couldn't:

 

 

And finally, I couldn't resist this number from State Rowdy.  I love it all, but especially that little moment when they drink tea while dancing:

 

 

BTW, the title of the post is intended as tongue-in-cheek, because of course, since I mostly watch Malayalam films, "Megastar" for me usually means Mohanlal or Mammootty, the former who dances not well but with enthusiasm, the latter, well, who doesn't dance.  So neither of them comes anywhere close to Megadancing Megastar Chiru in the dancing department.  On the other hand, who does, really?

Comments

[NinthFingerBlogSpot]

"...the former who dances not well..." seems you missed some Mohanlal films :-(

[katherine]

Well, that's entirely possible. I'm basing that statement on what I've seen. If you'd like to provide me with examples to counter it, I'm happy to watch and reconsider. But based on what I've seen, Mohanlal, emminently talented, is not a wonderful dancer. However, when I say he's enthusiastic, I mean that -- he appears to give it his all and jump right into things. That in of itself is an admirable quality, and one I can appreciate, too.

[Ninthfinger.blogspot.com]

Hello katherine, despite of my poor English, once again I'm taking the liberty to post a comment here.I'm Vipin.I like your blog very much.I'm so happy that I found someone on web who call Malayalam cinema as MALAYALAM cinema,not 'mallu films'. If you would like to watch,here is my picks for Lal's 'dance' movies.Kamaladalam,Vanaprastham,Gandharvam,Kaakkakkuyil..don't expect a 'step up' in any of these...thanks.
btw, Mammootty is the only 'megaaastar' in Malayalam...they call Lal some other tag names like 'complete actor' or 'universal star'...!!

[katherine]

Hi, again, Vipin,

Thanks for your recommendations -- I've had Vanaprastham for a while, (and I do understand why you've suggested I watch it in this case), so perhaps I should get around to watching it now, eh?

And thanks for the correction, too. I knew Mohalal was called the Complete Actor and Universal Star, but somehow I'd thought I'd seen him billed as Megastar somewhere, too, and that's patently wrong. So I'm happy you let me know. And I'm happy you like my blog, I have a growing admiration and affection for Malayalam cinema that I hope comes through, even when I make mistakes.