Actor Allu Arjun has always been vocal about being a Chiranjeevi fan. At events, in interviews, on social media, he has repeatedly spoken about growing up watching the Megastar’s films. On Chiranjeevi’s 71st birthday on Saturday, he wished him on X with the hashtag #KKAVCF, which fans decoded as “Katte Kale Varaku Chiranjeevi Fan,” Telugu for “A Chiranjeevi fan until death.” So when he said that he lost Rs 25,000 because of his idol, everyone around him got curious.

Speaking at the Mega60 celebration many years ago, Allu Arjun opened with a line that got an immediate laugh from the audience. “The only time I lost money because of Chiranjeevi was due to a bet,” he said.

Allu Arjun said he had watched Indra 15 times, presumably focused entirely on Chiranjeevi each time. At some point, someone bet him Rs 25,000 that Sonali Bendre was standing right next to Chiranjeevi during the ‘veena step’ sequence. Allu Arjun disagreed, and betted on it.

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“I was so focused on Chiranjeevi, who was wearing red shirt and black pants that I genuinely hadn’t noticed her dance with him,” Allu Arjun said. “I had to rewatch the movie for the 16th time to realise that Sonali Bendre was right there. That’s how I lost the Rs 25,000 bet.”

The bet, as Allu Arjun explained, was about the iconic veena dance step, one of Chiranjeevi’s most legendary moves and arguably the single most imitated dance step in the history of Telugu cinema. The step, which involves Chiranjeevi pretending to play a veena with his hands while moving his body in a rapid, fluid motion, has achieved cult status despite lasting only a few seconds on screen. It has been recreated over the years by actors across industries, including Allu Arjun himself. Every school function in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in the 1990s and 2000s had at least one kid attempting the step, with varying degrees of success.

The specific instance Allu Arjun was referring to features in a song from the 2002 blockbuster Indra, directed by B. Gopal and produced by C Aswini Dutt under the Vyjayanthi Movies banner. The film, which starred Chiranjeevi in the title role of a faction leader alongside Aarthi Agarwal, Sonali Bendre and Prakash Raj, was a massive commercial hit. It ran for over 175 days in multiple centres and became one of the defining films of Chiranjeevi’s career. The music was composed by Mani Sharma.

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Sonali Bendre, who played Pallavi Reddy in the film, has herself spoken about the veena step in interviews. During the Indra re-release promotions in 2024, she recalled how nervous she was the night before filming the song, saying she could barely sleep, worried about matching Chiranjeevi’s energy and finesse on what was a massive set in Hyderabad. Her anxiety was specifically about keeping up with the Veena step that Chiranjeevi “executed brilliantly,” she said. She also fondly recalled filming the Radhe Govinda song and how Chiranjeevi’s family visited the set during the shoot, making it a joyful experience.

Allu Arjun’s relationship with Chiranjeevi goes beyond fandom. He is the son of Allu Aravind, whose sister Surekha is married to Chiranjeevi, making the two actors uncle and nephew by marriage. But Allu Arjun has consistently positioned his admiration for Chiranjeevi as that of a genuine fan first and a family member second. At the Allu Studios launch in 2022, celebrating 100 years of Allu Ramalingaiah, he spoke at length about growing up watching Chiranjeevi’s films. At multiple public events over the years, he has repeated a phrase that has now become his signature tribute: “Katte kale varaku Chiranjeevi fan.”