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Published Jan 23, 2026 | 11:35 AM ⚊ Updated Jan 23, 2026 | 11:35 AM
Chiranjeevi. (File photo/X)
What does Telugu movie actor Chiranjeevi have to do with the World Economic Forum at Davos? Quite a lot, at least enough to set tongues wagging and eyebrows arched higher.
The surprise of all surprises at Davos this year was the sight of the megastar, calmly seated between Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy. He was witnessing the presentation of the Telangana Rising 2047 vision document during one of the WEF sessions.
For a moment, WEF watchers wondered if Davos had quietly added a new vertical: megastars as economic indicators.
Naturally, curiosity snowballed. Davos, after all, is not a film audio launch or a pre-release event. It is a high-stakes fair where investors and policymakers lock horns, flash spreadsheets instead of swords, and bargain like merchants with billion-dollar wallets.
But Chiranjeevi has nothing to sell, nor to buy— and certainly no Memorandum of Understanding tucked under his shawl. So what was he doing there?
The explanation, such as it is, came in the form of a convenient leak. Chiranjeevi was reportedly holidaying in Zurich with his family when Revanth Reddy, on a whim—or perhaps on a wing and a prayer — invited him to Davos.
The actor later confirmed that he attended the WEF session at the chief minister’s invitation. Simple, neat, and yet raising more questions than it answers.
Revanth Reddy’s relationship with the Telugu film industry, meanwhile, has all the elements of a classic masala film—drama, tension, and sudden plot twists. After the brief arrest of Allu Arjun in connection with the tragic stampede during the release of Pushpa-2: The Rising, the industry, which had earlier treated Revanth with studied indifference, suddenly discovered his phone number.
From ignoring him completely, stars began appearing at the Command Control Centre faster than character artists in a climax scene—whenever the chief minister snapped his fingers.
But Chiranjeevi appears to enjoy a special place in Revanth Reddy’s political heart. And for reasons best known to the chief minsiter, it has little to do with Chiranjeevi’s brief Congress stint after merging the Praja Rajyam Party. If anything, Chiranjeevi’s “integrationist” views should have made him an unlikely favourite of a Telangana leader. He had, after all, opposed the creation of Telangana. Yet, politics, like cinema, often defies logic.
This isn’t the first time the megastar has obliged. He made a notable appearance at the Telangana Rising Global Summit as well, announcing—almost apologetically—that he had come at the chief minister’s invitation. One begins to wonder what exactly draws Revanth Reddy to Chiranjeevi like a moth to a megawatt bulb.
Politically, Chiranjeevi offers little mileage in Telangana. He is widely perceived as a dyed-in-the-wool “Andhrawallah,” with no mass base to speak of. He may have reasons to keep cordial ties—after all, Hyderabad is his home turf. But Revanth Reddy’s visible fondness remains the real mystery. Perhaps it’s star power; or optics; or perhaps the chief minister believes that when policy meets popularity, a little stardust doesn’t hurt. At Davos, amid icy winds and colder balance sheets, even hard-nosed economics may need a dash of cinematic flair.
