Chiranjeevi: I wasn't happy with the earlier climax for Godfather, Mohan Raja brought in key changes

Chiranjeevi is among the rare bunch of veteran actors in Telugu cinema sharing a cordial relationship with the media fraternity and always pays heed to their opinions, whether his films work or not. The core team of the Film Critics Association in Hyderabad met the Godfather star and congratulated him for the film's success recently. The star and the members spoke on a wide range of issues for well over two hours - from cinema to his enthusiasm for work and his firm ethical standards.

"The success of Godfather was possible because of many reasons, but significant credit should go to Mohan Raja for the changes he made to the original. We reworked a lot of aspects after watching the final copy. I wasn't happy with the earlier version of the climax we'd shot. How can an international don salute someone like Brahma? The scene initially had Satya Priya suggesting Brahma kill her husband. In one of the versions, I kill Jaidev and in the other version, Jaidev kills himself," he said.

"Jaidev has psychologically given up and it didn't look right that two stars kill him. I didn't like it at all. I conveyed my displeasure to Mohan Raja. We did something similar with Nutan Prasad's character in Veta - I make him eat a bunch of coins in the climax. That experience left a sour aftertaste and I didn't want to commit the same mistake. The idea of Jaidev killing himself with the same inhaler that he killed his father-in-law was a suggestion we all liked," Chiranjeevi added.

The star said that Godfather will be among the top 5 films in his career. It's also the film that he aggressively promoted amidst a breakneck schedule. In between Godfather's promotions, Chiranjeevi was simultaneously shooting for his next with director Bobby and took charge of his father-in-law Allu Ramalingaiah's centenary celebrations and the inauguration of Allu Studios. "When you're so excited about life, there's no scope to get tired," the star shared.

"I wake up at 4.30 am the days when I have a shoot. Bobby is restlessly working on my film and I don't want to cause any trouble to their plans. I work round the clock because I respect everyone's time and effort. I have maintained this work ethic since the beginning of my career. I actually get irritated when anyone asks me to relax." Chiranjeevi's film with Bobby is wrapping its shoot at a quick pace and the actor is simultaneously shooting for Meher Ramesh's Bholaa Shankar.