At 17, Pawan Kalyan almost joined Naxalites. Chiranjeevi's questions stopped him
Pawan Kalyan said he had once considered joining the Naxalites before Chiranjeevi intervened. He said his brother's questions about family responsibility made him stop and rethink his decision.
Telugu actor-politician and Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan has said that, before entering politics, he had at one stage considered joining the Naxalites. In a recent podcast with ANI, he said he had even attended some public meetings before stepping away from that path, adding that it was his brother, actor Chiranjeevi, who encouraged him to channel his rage into something "more constructive."
Pawan Kalyan, who made his debut with the 1996 film Akkada Ammayi Ikkada Abbayi and went on to found the Janasena Party in 2014, said the phase of wanting to pick up the gun lasted through his late teens and early twenties. "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.
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.
"It lasted from 17 to 21. That’s the age you can jump in," he said.
He also described that period as one in which he was struggling internally and looking for direction. According to him, he would attend student gatherings where no one knew him, and also take part in short film festivals in Mumbai to make documentaries. He said he was experimenting, but remained unhappy with everything, feeling stuck and angry. "My mind was exploding with many things. I was going crazy. That’s when my brother entered the picture," he said.
Pawan said Chiranjeevi then posed a series of questions about responsibility that eventually made him pause. "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 said.
That question made Pawan Kalyan convert his anger against injustice into something meaningful. Years later, after a successful career in films, he started his political party in 2014.
On the professional 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, and no other projects have been announced so far.
Telugu actor-politician and Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan has said that, before entering politics, he had at one stage considered joining the Naxalites. In a recent podcast with ANI, he said he had even attended some public meetings before stepping away from that path, adding that it was his brother, actor Chiranjeevi, who encouraged him to channel his rage into something "more constructive."
Pawan Kalyan, who made his debut with the 1996 film Akkada Ammayi Ikkada Abbayi and went on to found the Janasena Party in 2014, said the phase of wanting to pick up the gun lasted through his late teens and early twenties. "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.
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.
"It lasted from 17 to 21. That’s the age you can jump in," he said.
He also described that period as one in which he was struggling internally and looking for direction. According to him, he would attend student gatherings where no one knew him, and also take part in short film festivals in Mumbai to make documentaries. He said he was experimenting, but remained unhappy with everything, feeling stuck and angry. "My mind was exploding with many things. I was going crazy. That’s when my brother entered the picture," he said.
Pawan said Chiranjeevi then posed a series of questions about responsibility that eventually made him pause. "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 said.
That question made Pawan Kalyan convert his anger against injustice into something meaningful. Years later, after a successful career in films, he started his political party in 2014.
On the professional 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, and no other projects have been announced so far.
