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Megastar Chiranjeevi is facing criticism on social media following a comment he made during his appearance at the Telangana Rising Global Summit. The actor attended the event alongside NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery and industrialist Anand Mahindra.

While speaking on stage, Chiranjeevi recalled how he was invited to the summit, mentioning that ministers had approached him while he was “dancing with a girl” during a film shoot at Annapurna Studios. His remark drew swift backlash online, with many users calling it a “poor choice of words.”

Chiranjeevi said, “You may wonder why a film star like Chiranjeevi is here when every other chief guest belongs to finance, automobiles, or politics. Honestly, even I wondered the same.” He added that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had personally wanted him at the event and sent Deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka and IT Minister D. Sridhar Babu to the film set to invite him.

Describing the moment, he said, “Do you know what position I was in when they came to invite me? Evaro ammai to dance chestu unnanu Annapurna Studios lo (I was dancing with some girl at Annapurna Studios). I felt very awkward and had to stop shooting for a while.”

The clip quickly circulated on X (formerly Twitter), triggering mixed reactions. Some criticized the remark, with comments such as: “Bringing up a ‘girl’ topic was totally unnecessary,” and “At some point, we should stop inviting celebrities who cannot control their words to events like this.” Others felt the comment reflected carelessness rather than intent, with one user noting, “I think when we grow up, we lose control over our choice of words.”

On the film front, Chiranjeevi will next be seen in Vishwambhara, slated for a Summer 2026 release. He also has Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu and an untitled film with director Srikanth Odela in the pipeline.