The Telugu film industry witnessed a historic and deeply emotional moment on Thursday (May 21) during the grand launch of Megastar Chiranjeevi’s highly anticipated 158th film. The opening ceremony’s main highlight was the arrival of Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and Power Star Pawan Kalyan as the chief guest. In a beautifully symbolic gesture, Pawan Kalyan sounded the first clapboard for the muhurtham shot on his elder brother, Chiranjeevi. As the images instantly took social media by storm, Chiranjeevi took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his profound emotions, reflecting on a cinematic legacy spanning exactly three decades.
In his heartfelt post, Chiranjeevi noted how seeing the clapboard held between himself and his younger brother instantly brought back memories of a parallel event that occurred 30 years ago, but in exact reverse order. “Thank you for taking the time despite your responsibilities as the Deputy Chief Minister to attend the launch of my 158th film, sound the clapboard, and fill the entire unit with joy,” the Megastar expressed. The cinematic flashback traces back to 1897-era nostalgia and the year 1996, when Pawan Kalyan made his silver screen debut with the classic film ‘Akkada Ammayi Ikkada Abbayi’. On that historic day, it was the elder brother, Chiranjeevi, who stood at the forefront to sound the debut clapboard and bless his younger brother’s entry into the film world.
Three decades later, the frame has beautifully reversed—while the older brother previously blessed the younger brother’s entry into cinema, the younger brother has now returned, holding one of the highest political offices in the state, to sound the clapboard for his elder brother’s milestone project. Directed by Bobby Kolli and backed by KVN Productions, ‘Mega 158’ features a stellar musical score by Thaman and marks the prominent Telugu debut of talented Malayalam actress Anaswara Rajan. For millions of fans, the emotional clapboard visual stands as the ultimate testament to the unbreakable, lifelong bond shared by the Mega Brothers.
