Hyderabad: Tollywood ‘megastar’ K. Chiranjeevi on Tuesday praised his younger brother, actor-politician Pawan Kalyan as a leader who is known for his sense of commitment, saying that his support will definitely be with him.
Chiranjeevi also stated that Andhra Pradesh needs a leader like Pawan Kalyan and hoped that people will give him an opportunity in future.
The former Union minister and Congress leader, who has been staying away from politics for the last eight years, made politically significant comments at a media event about his movie ‘Godfather’ released on Wednesday.
“Since childhood, I have known him for his honesty and commitment. This did not get polluted anywhere. We need such a leader,” said Chiranjeevi about his younger brother Pawan Kalyan.
“Which side he will be, where he will be, it will all be decided by people in future. He definitely has my support,” added Chiranjeevi.
The ‘megastar’ also recalled that he did not like being on one side of politics with his brother on the other. “I withdrew myself and remained silent with the hope that in future he will emerge (as a leader). I hope people will give him an opportunity. Such a day should come,” he added.
Chiranjeevi was apparently referring to the 2014 elections when he was leading the Congress party’s campaign in Andhra Pradesh while Pawan Kalyan was canvassing for the TDP-BJP combine.
Pawan Kalyan, who founded Jana Sena Party (JSP) before the 2014 polls, did not contest but supported the TDP-BJP combine and addressed election rallies in the company of Narendra Modi and Chandrababu Naidu.
In 2019, JSP contested the elections in alliance with BSP and the Left parties. However, Pawan Kalyan’s party could not win a single seat in the 175-member Assembly and he himself was defeated in both the seats he contested.
Popular in Tollywood as a ‘Power Star’, Pawan revived his alliance with BJP after the 2014 polls and is currently working to forge an alliance against the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP).
Chiranjeevi had last week stated that he wants to be away from politics but politics is not going away from him.
He also organised a pre-release event of ‘Godfather’ in Anantapur, a move which was seen as a political signal. Pawan Kalyan had already expressed his desire to contest the next election from Anantapur.
Chiranjeevi entered politics in 2008 by floating Praja Rajyam Party (PRP). However, the party had to bite the dust in 2009 polls as the Congress under Y S Rajasekhara Reddy retained power in then undivided Andhra Pradesh.
The actor later merged his party with the Congress and in return, the latter made him a Rajya Sabha member and a Union minister.
After Congress was wiped out from Andhra Pradesh in 2014 due to public anger over the state’s division, Chiranjeevi distanced himself from active politics and started focusing on films.
A remake of the Malayalam film ‘Lucifer’, ‘Godfather’ is a political thriller written and directed by Mohan Raja. Bollywood star Salman Khan has also made an appearance in movies made in Hindi and Telugu.
Replying to a query, Chiranjeevi said the dialogues in the movie were not aimed at targeting the present-day politicians. He said that the dialogues are based on the original story and that they had no intention of targeting anyone.
