The pre-release event of the film ‘Acharya’ was held on Saturday night at Police Grounds in Yousufguda and it was graced by director Rajamouli who was invited as the Chief Guest to the event, where the cast and crew of the film were also seen in attendance. Here are the highlights from the event: SS Rajamouli: People ask me how I can stay grounded after the massive success of RRR. Well. That is one of the things I’ve learnt from Chiranjeevi garu: humility. If such a great man can stay so humble, who are we in comparison? Koratala made a pucca commercial film with Mirchi but later changed track slightly and made a combination of message-oriented, commercial films. With ‘Acharya’, I think the mass element is back in full swing. Chiranjeevi: Actually, there was a situation when Ram Charan was committed to RRR and Koratala Siva had also prepared a script for him. I called Siva to my house but there was no way that Ram Charan could get time off from ‘RRR’. So, I asked Siva if he had a story for me instead. Siva was thrilled and said he did have a script for me. Thus, I ended up working with Siva and later on, of course, Ram Charan again became a part of the project. So, Rajamouli is indirectly responsible for initiating ‘Acharya’ and I’m extremely happy that he has graced the pre-release event as the Chief Guest. Ram Charan: After ‘Mirchi’, I had wanted to work with Koratala Siva. But things didn’t materialise for some reason. As they say, whatever happens, happens for the best! I now had the good fortune of working with my father. I wholeheartedly thank Koratala Siva for giving me the role of ‘Siddha’ in ‘Acharya’. It was my mother’s dream to see us on screen together. But I was shooting for ‘RRR’ and had no dates for ‘Acharya’. So my father spoke to Rajamouli and he allowed me to go and shoot for ‘Acharya’ as well because he realised how much it meant for my mother. Pooja Hegde: Nowadays, whenever I go to Mumbai, I feel so proud because they talk so well about our South films and Rajamouli garu made this possible with ‘RRR’. I thank Koratala Siva garu for giving me the character of Neelambari, an innocent, pure and mischievous girl in ‘Acharya’. Ram Charan is getting better with every film and Chiranjeevi is an actor with incredible ‘swag’. When Koratala garu narrated ‘Acharya’ to me, I had goose bumps and I hope the audience will experience it in theatres too. Koratala Siva (Director): I know how much the producers have spent on this film but they never ever complained and cheerfully provided me with whatever I asked for the film. It’s been a journey of four years and we faced many challenges along the way. But the dream of ‘Acharya’ was finally realised and I want to thank each and every member of my cast and crew. ‘Acharya’ will be a treat to mega fans and I especially want to thank SS Rajamouli for providing Ram Charan’s dates for us and allowing us to complete ‘Acharya’. Ramajogayya Sastry (Lyricist): My lifelong dream of writing a song for megastar Chiranjeevi and watching him dance onscreen to it has been fulfilled with ‘Acharya’. As for Ram Charan, he commenced his career with a song shot in Bangkok that was written by me for the film ‘Chirutha’. ‘Laahe …Laahe’ song is especially close to my heart because it was a challenging sequence given to me by director Koratala Siva and also, this song was appreciated by my guruji, the late Siriveneela Seetarama Sastry garu. Ram Lakshman (Stunt Choreographer): The tricky part for us was balancing the equation between Chiranjeevi and Ram Charan and giving them equal prominence in the fight sequences. ‘Acharya’ is based on the concept of ‘Dharma’, that life goes out of control only when we do not follow it. After watching the film, people will once again connect with the great Indian tradition of ‘Sanatana Dharma’. Koratala Siva is known for his message-oriented films and in ‘Acharya’, he has addressed the issue of greed of some corporate hospitals. Meher Ramesh (Director): Koratala Siva showed me the interval episode. It’s a fight sequence unlike any other that Chiranjeevi garu has done before. I also watched the "Banjara" song and it was like Lord Shiva dancing with his son Kumaraswamy. ‘Acharya’ is high on technical values and will definitely end up as a memorable film for all mega fans. Thirru (Cinematographer): When Koratala Siva narrates a story, it isn’t just a story, it is an epic with many plots and sub-plots but the detailing is so superb that there is no need to exaggerate the film-making. Bobby (Director): I‘d like to thank Koratala Siva as a mega fan for bringing Chiranjeevi and Ram Charan together on-screen. What can I say about Chiranjeevi garu? He is an actor who is ready on location at 6am for a 7 am shot. Not a single day goes by when my respect for him as an actor and an individual does not increase. Mohan Raja (Director): My last film as a Telugu director was 20 years ago for a film called ‘Hanuman Junction’. Today, I’m directing Chiranjeevi garu in ‘Godfather’ and I am really grateful to him for such a splendid comeback opportunity. Half the technicians for ‘Acharya’ are working for ‘Godfather’ too, so both films are like my own. Chiranjeevi garu used to narrate some scenes from ‘Acharya’ while shooting for our film. ‘Acharya’ is going to be an amazing film. DVV Danayya (Producer): Koratala Siva directed my film ‘Bharat Ane Nenu’. That movie brought me a lot of respect. Siva usually has a single star in his movies but this is the first time that he has brought two stars together on screen for his film. KS Rama Rao (Director): It is Chiranjeevi’s incredible energy that is behind so many young directors working with him be it Meher Ramesh, Bobby or Mohan Raja. He is the man who gave incredible support behind the scenes to make films like ‘RRR’ go global. BVSN Prasad (Producer): During the pandemic, Chiranjeevi stood by the industry, but for his efforts, the industry would have suffered a catastrophe. Many people say many things and talk all kinds of nonsense on social media but Chiranjeevi garu is the only ‘industry peddha’, I challenge anyone to a debate on this. Niranjan Reddy (Producer): There is this perception that star actors and directors take exorbitant remunerations. This is not true at all. Koratala Siva and Ram Charan asked me to focus only on the quality of film=making and not worry about the remunerations. They said that they would think about it after the movie is successful.