Just Rs 15 Lakh Made Rajinikanth a Superstar Instead of Chiranjeevi?

The 1990s was an important period for Telugu and Tamil cinema. Many popular stars were competing with each other, and some interesting stories from that time are still remembered by movie fans. Two such stories involve Megastar Chiranjeevi, Superstar Rajinikanth and Superstar Krishna.

One of the most interesting stories is about Rajinikanth’s Baashha. The 1995 Tamil film became one of the biggest milestones in Rajinikanth’s career. It established him as a powerful mass hero and remains one of his most remembered films.

However, reports have claimed that Baashha was initially considered for a Telugu remake with Chiranjeevi. At that time, Chiranjeevi and director Vijay Bapineedu were working on Big Boss. There was reportedly a discussion that some elements of Big Boss and Baashha were similar.

According to reports, Baashha director Suresh Krissna met Chiranjeevi and explained the story. Chiranjeevi reportedly liked the idea, and producer Allu Aravind was also interested in acquiring the Telugu remake rights.

This is where an interesting twist reportedly happened. The rights were said to have been quoted at around Rs 40 lakh, while the Telugu producers reportedly offered around Rs 25 lakh. The difference was Rs 15 lakh. As the deal did not happen, the remake plan did not move forward.

Baashha eventually released in Tamil on January 12, 1995 and became a huge success. It was later dubbed into Telugu and also received a good response.

Another memorable story from the same period is about Superstar Krishna’s Number One. In the early 1990s, there was discussion about Krishna’s declining market. But the 1994 Sankranthi release changed the situation.

The film competed with two major movies: Chiranjeevi’s Mugguru Monagallu and Nagarjuna’s Govinda Govinda. Number One, directed by S.V. Krishna Reddy, emerged as a major success during the Sankranthi season.

Krishna played the lead role opposite Soundarya. The film combined family emotions, romance, action and entertainment. Its music also became an important attraction.

The success of Number One was significant because it arrived when questions were being raised about Krishna’s market. The film’s performance showed that the veteran star could still attract audiences despite strong competition from Chiranjeevi and Nagarjuna.

These two stories remain fascinating “what if” moments in South Indian cinema. What if Chiranjeevi had acted in Baashha? What if Number One had not competed successfully with the younger stars? Such stories show how different decisions and releases could have changed the history of Telugu cinema.