In a recent podcast, Telugu actor-politician and Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan said he almost lost his path as he wanted to join the Naxalite because he was enraged by social justice. However, his brother Chiranjeevi stopped him.
Pawan Kalyan made his political debut in 2014 much after making his first film in the Telugu industry in 1996 with Akkada Ammayi Ikkada Abbayi . Pawan Kalyan said, “I even entertained getting into the Naxalites. One point in time, when I was in my late teens… I wanted to pick up the gun. That’s when my brother pushed me into something more constructive. He said, where is that mad rage coming from? I said, I’m talking about injustice, we should go do this and that. He was very worried. It lasted from 17 to 21. That’s the age you can jump in.”
Recalling those years, he said Chiranjeevi had asked him where the “mad rage” was coming from. Pawan said he had spoken about injustice [in society] and the urge to act on it, which made his brother deeply worried.
“My mind was exploding with many things. I was going crazy. That’s when my brother entered the picture. He said only one thing. If your brother was not Chiranjeevi, if you have responsibilities towards your family, if someone is dependent on you based on your salary and hard work, would you do the same thing? I could not answer. I didn’t have an answer, I kept quiet,” he added.
On the work front, Pawan Kalyan was last seen in Hari Hara Veera Mallu and They Call Him OG last year and Ustaad Bhagat Singh in 2026. He will next feature in an untitled project directed by Surender Reddy,