Speaking at the ANR Awards ceremony held on Sunday in Hyderabad, Megastar Chiranjeevi gave a heartfelt speech. He began his speech recounting how his mother was very intent on watching 'Rojulu Marayi' in 1955 when she was pregnant with Chiru. "She insisted that my father take her to the neighbouring town to be able to watch the movie. She was a big fan of the great ANR garu. Even when she was pregnant and could have delivered me any moment. Yet, she didn't bother about it and wanted to watch the movie in a theatre," the 'Sye Raa' actor said.

"I feel lucky to have made a name for myself when NTR garu and ANR garu were still active in cinema. Acting with the latter in 'Mechanic Alludu' will always be a great memory. I cherish the memories of spending time with him at his residence many a time. He would advise me at times and share his valuable insights. His suggestions are a reason why I am disciplined to do. He was a walking dictionary. When Ghulam Nabi Azad was a Union Health Minister, he happened to bump into ANR garu once and was stunned seeing his energy levels at 90 years of age. He wanted to seek ideas from ANR garu so as to implement them to make India healthier!" Chiru revealed.

Chiru expressed hope that ANR Award will grow in importance in the coming years. "I feel fortunate to be handing over the award to Rekha garu and late Sridevi garu. It's an honour that Nagarjuna has given me," he added.

"Sridevi garu was so passionate about cinema that she didn't think about anything else. It's extremely saddening that she passed away too early. She was the Lady Superstar of India across languages," Chiru noted.

The actor also shared an interesting anecdote about Rekha. "A few years ago, I was in Parliament. The usually noisy hall turned silent all of a sudden. I was surprised and raised my head to see what was going on. Everyone was looking stunned toward one direction. Their mouths were open in admiration. It was none other than Rekha garu, my fellow Rajya Sabha member, who had just entered the hall. Her presence in the Parliament was a huge distraction. The MPs couldn't discuss the nation's problems because of the distraction she caused. She is a timeless, ageless beauty!" Chiru said.

"I call my wife Surekha as Rekha. It's because Rekha garu is one of my favourite actors. My wife doesn't know this at all! I hope this part of the speech is edited out so that she doesn't get to watch it," the Megastar joked.