The actor-turned-politician and Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan has been making a conscious effort to position himself as a fierce advocate of Sanata Dharma.
Though Hindutva ideology doesn’t resonate with Andhra voters — as reflected by the BJP’s failure to make any mark— Pawan Kalyan is going aggressive on this path and emerging as a staunch defender of the Hindu traditions. His Jana Sena Party, an ally of the BJP, is part of the coalition government headed by Chandrababu Naidu.
His supporters contend that the actor’s star power, coupled with his zeal to champion the Hindutva cause, makes him an ideal choice to shape the future politics of the state.
As part of this image-building exercise, Pawan Kalyan has now spoken about ‘unjustified glorification’ of Mughal rulers in school textbooks.
Speaking in Hyderabad on the occasion of the release of his latest period movie “Hari Hara Veera Mallu’, he criticised the school curriculum for ‘ignoring the suffering’ endured by Indians under the Mughal rule.
Lamenting that India’s history had been misrepresented and its true heroes neglected, he said, “India didn’t attack anyone. We didn’t oppress anyone. Everyone tried to take over this country, attack and oppress our country.”
He wondered why our history books often celebrate Mughal emperors while failing to acknowledge the oppression they caused and the resistance of native rulers.
Also read: Pawan Kalyan bats for Hindi as national language
“How long will they talk about the Mughal greatness? What happened to our sufferings? They never spoke of the oppression, the times we suffered. They said Akbar is great, Aurangzeb is great, but nothing about what they've done. They didn't talk about the kings of our country who fought bravely,” he said.
Citing the case of Kohinoor diamond, the ‘Power Star’, as the actor called by his fans, said India’s cultural and material wealth was looted. “Such a great treasure has gone into the hands of Mughal kings and now finally at a museum in the UK.”
Latest offering, a period movie
His new film, “Hari Hara Veera Mallu: Part 1 - Sword vs Spirit”, will be released in multiple languages on July 24. It is a period action entertainer set during the time when Aurangzeb reigned over Golconda Sultanate.
He said the focus of his film was not box office performance but historical integrity. “We took a lot of time debating about this script and cinema. We don't know how much money it will make in the box office. We didn't think about all of that. We did our best.”
Kalyan praised Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj for uniting people during difficult times. “In such difficult times came great leaders like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He restored self-respect and bravery and courage in our hearts,” he said.
Ideological metamorphosis
From an ardent admirer of socialist revolutions to a fierce advocate of Sanata Dharma, Pawan Kalyan has come a long way. This ideological metamorphosis of the 54 year old maverick star appears more dramatic than what the script writers of his popular movies could have imagined.
From a middle class upbringing in a small Andhra town, he rose to stardom in Telugu film industry. He is the younger brother of megastar Chiranjeevi whose tryst with politics was a disaster. Chiranjeevi floated a regional party ‘Praja Rajyam’ in 2008 and merged it in the Congress later.
“Pawanism”, a compilation of the actor’s observations on life and society in general, has entered the lexicon of Tollywood. Pawanism has a loyal following, particularly among the youth.
There is a massive army of his fans, who call themselves “Pawan Sena” and turn into online warriors to defend their hero from the mocking memes and spoofs on the actor. He has 5.8 million followers on twitter.
Restless, Brooding
Having made his debut in 1996 with “Akkada Ammayi, Ikkada Abbayi”, Pawan Kalyan has a string of hits and awards under his belt. Known for his penchant for unconventional style of film making, he has produced and directed a couple of movies. He was listed by Forbes among the top 100 Indian celebrities while he was the most searched Indian personality on Google in 2014 when he had launched Jana Sena Party.
For someone who had five consecutive mega hits that earned him fame, fortune and fans, Pawan Kalyan comes across as a brooding and lonely person yearning for some higher purpose in life.
In the media interviews he gave ahead of his political foray, the actor spoke about his inclination towards socialist ideology and revealed how he was awe-struck by the history of socialist revolutions around the world. He made known his admiration for Latin American revolutionary Che Guevara.
He floated Jana Sena in March 2014 but was largely inactive and reclusive for a long time. The mercurial star had supported the NDA, saying he was a big fan of Narendra Modi. He had even campaigned for the TDP-BJP combine, a factor that played a key role in the TDP coming to power in AP.
His Jana Sena Party bombed at the ballot box in the 2019 polls. It managed to win just one assembly seat. Lack of organisational structure and absence of concrete policies and programmes were cited as the reasons for his electoral debacle.
In the recent elections, a resurgent Jana Sena supremo played a key role in bringing the TDP and BJP together and forging a broader alliance which succeeded in unseating YSRCP from power. His party won all the 21 assembly seats it contested in the 2024 elections as part of the alliance.
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