Shiva Balaji now has a page of his own in the history of the Telugu small screen. By pipping at least half-a-dozen 'kirak' contestants, the talented actor won the title like a colossus.

It was a nail-biting finale. The final contenders were him and Aadarsh Balakrishnan, who was hardly a favourite when it all began.

Balaji romps home with a cash prize of a whopping Rs. 50 lacs.. He can't ask for more. For a character artiste of more than a decade of standing in Telugu cinema, this is a dream 'remuneration' for a 70-day 'schedule'.

Credit must also go to how Swapna Madhuri, his former actress-wife, consistently stood by his side. She not only supported her husband all through by leveraging social media but also was seen as actively rallying support for Balaji.

Most remembered for his role in Sukumar's 'Arya', Balaji was recently seen in Pawan Kalyan-starrer 'Katamarayudu'.

Remarkably, the final round of public voting garnered 11cr 95 lakhs votes in all. This only goes to show how popular the NTR-hosted show was.