Chiranjeevi has appeared as the first guest on the latest OTT talk show 'Nijam With Smita'. Hosted by pop singer Smita, the same is currently streaming on SonyLIV.

The 'Waltair Veerayya' actor recounted the old days when he was undergoing an acting course at a film institute in Pondy Bazaar in then Madras. As an aspiring actor, Chiru was written off by all and sundry, especially those who thought he won't make the cut when he revealed his caste identity upon being asked about it. "Some people would laugh at my looks and say that there are aspiring actors who look handsome. Yet others would ask me if I have a film background and when I said I had none, they would write me off. Others would ask me about my caste identity and would write me off in a dismissive way," Chiru said.

The 'Bholaa Shankar' actor also said that he didn't believe he was cut off for politics despite his party PRP winning seventy lakh votes in the 2009 Assembly elections to then-united Andhra Pradesh. "I am glad that I have been feted when I returned to cinema," he added.