Ever since the institution of Corona Crisis Charity, Chiranjeevi has come to be seen as a commander by many in the Telugu film industry. The well-meaning Megastar invited donations for CCC. Three weeks or so later, the fund had Rs 8 Cr at its generous disposal. Thousands of cine workers have received support because of its existence.

Most recently, the 'Sye Raa' actor convened a meeting with Telangana Cinematography Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav to help the industry get restarted. It's under his leadership that the likes of Dil Raju, Nagarjuna, Rajamouli and several well-known producers came under one roof. They also met with KCR.

With all this, the 'Acharya' actor has come to be seen as a principal player of Tollywood, which is facing an unequalled crisis at the moment.

C Kalyan, speaking to Hans India, has described Chiru as the next Dasari Narayana Rao. The late Dasari was a headman and a manager of sorts, helping out trade bodies, producers and others resolve issues. "It took a lot of convincing to get Chiranjeevi garu replace Dasari garu," Kalyan, himself a producer, says.

There is no doubt that Chiru's ongoing contributions will be profusely thanked by film personalities for years to come.