The film was a prequel of sorts. On the big screen, the actor loomed larger than life as a crusading hero who battled corruption. The 2002 release Indra promised hope — in the form of a saviour called Chiranjeevi.

Last week, the 53-year-old Telugu actor stepped out of cinema halls in a new venture that may seriously impact elections in Andhra Pradesh, slated to be held next year. Like N.T. Rama Rao, who upset electoral calculation in the state after he launched his Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in 1982, Chiranjeevi vows to usher in change.

The trailer, of course, had all the pomp and show of a new release. On Sunday — a little after midnight — the actor inaugurated the headquarters of his yet-to-be-named political party in Hyderabad. Surrounded by party activists, fans and two special invitees — Congress Member of Parliament Harirama Jogaiah and former TDP minister K. Vidyadhar Rao — he said he would soon divulge the name of the party.

“Our focus is on social justice for the common people and on trying to end the reign of corruption in public life,” says Chiranjeevi, called Chiru by his fans.

A little over 25 years ago, few would have thought that Andhra’s politics could be dictated by a popular actor called NTR. But NTR scripted the contemporary history of the state — a reason why politicians today are wary of Chiranjeevi’s electoral ambitions. His cinema has for some years been endorsing the cause of the common man, holding the government and politicians responsible for their problems.

What worries the Congress and the TDP is not just his popularity, but the fact that he is a member of the Backward Class Kapu community which constitutes 22 per cent of the population and has a strong presence in seven districts. Kapus are predominant in East and West Godavari, known as the rice bowl of the state.

The Kapus were supporters of the TDP for long but swung to the Congress in 2004. If the community backs Chiranjeevi’s new party, they would affect the fortunes of both the TDP and the Congress. Election watchers say that Kapus and subgroups can sway the outcome of elections in 90 of the state’s 295 assembly seats. “Chiranjeevi is the future chief minister of AP,” says Jogaiah, who is expected to resign from the Congress soon.

Others are not as enthusiastic. “Chiranjeevi is not NTR. He lacks the charisma and political understanding of NTR,” says former National Democratic Alliance minister and TDP leader Umareddy Venkateswarlu. “NTR succeeded in bringing together opposition parties on a single platform and taking on corruption in the Congress and its High Command. We doubt whether Chiranjeevi can achieve such a feat.”

Says AP Congress Committee President D. Srinivas: “We are not scared of Chiranjeevi. The Congress party has done a lot for the Backward Classes and Kapus in particular. The threat is mostly to the TDP.”

But Chiranjeevi already wields enormous clout in the state. He has a fan following of some 5 lakh people — and has acted in 500 films since his 1978 debut, Pranam Khareedu. His contacts in the higher rungs of administration, including the police, prompted his daughter, Srija, to publicly seek police protection when she eloped and married last year.

“My father’s influence is beyond that of a CM or even a mafia don. His fans will kill people and take the blame on themselves for him. For almost half the population of the state, he is God,” she had then said.

Not for nothing have fans nicknamed him Mega Star. It took him 10 years to emerge as a top star in the Kamma-dominated Andhra film industry. It helped that his wife was the daughter of character actor Allu Ramalingaiah, who had his own film distribution and production firm.

Since then, Chiranjeevi has come a long way. Today, he lives in a sprawling house atop a hill in the Jubilee hills area. The house — now worth an estimated Rs 78 crore — is a four-storey building spread on a three-acre plot, and has a swimming pool on the first floor, a well-equipped gym, tennis courts and two party halls. Chiranjeevi drives a BMW, but his personal fleet of five cars includes a Rolls and a Merc. The family has 15 other cars, and the staff, three.

But Chiru would rather be projected as a Good Samaritan — somewhat on the lines of NTR, and M.G. Ramachandran in Tamil Nadu. He has set up a blood bank and eye bank which provide free service to the poor.

That he had political ambition emerged when his films Stalin (2006), Indra and Tagore (2003) made a case for a Mr Clean who took on a corrupt and politically violent system. Chiranjeevi, of course, was the hero who brandished the new broom.

For Chiranjeevi, aka Siva Sankara Vara Prasad Konidela, the time is just right for a political entry. Five years of Congress rule have led to an anti-incumbency wave in the state, and the TDP is in a shambles as well.

A recent survey by the Congress has shown that 110 of its 189 sitting MLAs may be defeated in the 2009 state poll for having failed to deliver while in power. The situation in the TDP is not very rosy either. A TDP survey indicates that 45 sitting MLAs and 82 other senior leaders may not win in 2009, thanks to their unsavoury reputations.

The “Chiru” party — as the actor’s political outfit is being called — is rolling ahead. Chiranjeevi mentor Amit Mitra, a nephew of Marxist ideologue P. Sundaraiah, says the actor will launch a rath yatra in the state from August 26. “A unique campaign vehicle driven with a high-powered engine and a fibre glass body is ready,” he says. Five cars, five buses and two helicopters will be used for his campaigns and tours.

Over the last six months Mitra has organised political training camps for party workers. About one lakh workers, he says, have been trained on ways to put people on the voting list, and on spreading a message of government failure.

But his political opponents maintain that the actor is going through a bad phase — and astrologers have been holding forth on how this is an inauspicious period for him. Chiranjeevi, in turn, is doing all that he can do for a propitious start. Earlier this week, he performed a string of rituals, and sought the blessing of the Kanchi seer, Jayendra Saraswati. The actor prayed at Tirupati, Srikalahasti and Srisailam, while his aides visited the Ameen Peer Dargah near Kadapa in Rayalseema.

Indeed, the last few months have not been easy for a man seeking a political platform. Months after Srija’s elopement, his fans attacked another actor’s family, angered by the remarks that actor Rajasekhar had allegedly made about Chiranjeevi’s lack of political experience. Chiranjeevi went to Rajasekhar’s house and apologised.

Chiranjeevi postponed his party’s launch twice because of the two incidents — and once more when his brother hit the headlines for living with an actress while he was still married. But Chiru, clearly, is not ready to give up the battle. The stars may not be cooperating with him — but AP’s Mega Star is ready to take the plunge.