Pawan Kalyan

Konidala Pawan Kalyan  (born Konidala Kalyan Babu; 2 September[a]) is an Indian politician and actor serving as the 9th deputy chief minister of Andhra Pradesh since 12 June 2024.  He is also serving as the Minister of Panchayati Raj, Rural Development & Rural Water Supply, Environment, Forest, and Science & Technology in the Government of Andhra Pradesh. He is the founder and president of the Jana Sena Party.

As an actor Kalyan primarily works in Telugu cinema and is known for his unique acting style and mannerisms. He has a large fan base and is one of the highest-paid actors of Indian cinema. He has been featured in Forbes India’s Celebrity 100 list multiple times since 2013. Kalyan is the recipient of a Filmfare Award South and a SIIMA Award among other accolades.

In 2008, Kalyan entered into politics as the youth wing president of his brother Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam Party, but he left after it merged into the Congress party. He founded the Jana Sena Party in March 2014 and was listed as the most searched Indian celebrity politician on Google at the time. He is a black belt in Karate and trains in various martial arts which he depicts in his films regularly. Kalyan is referred to as Power Star by his fans and in the media. Kalyan is the founder of the charity Common Man Protection Force.

Early life and education

Kalyan was born as Konidala Kalyan Babu[21] on 2 September[a] in a Telugu family to Konidala Venkata Rao and Anjana Devi in Bapatla, Andhra Pradesh.  Venkata Rao worked as a police constable and was transferred on a regular basis.

Kalyan was educated at the St. Joseph’s High School in Nellore. He was awarded the title “Pawan” during one of his public martial arts presentations. He also holds a black belt in Karate.

Acting career

Kalyan made his acting debut in 1996 with Akkada Ammayi Ikkada Abbayi. His second film Gokulamlo Seeta released the following year. He next appeared in A. Karunakaran-directed Tholi Prema (1999) which won the National Award and six Nandi Awards that year. After Tholi Prema, Kalyan acted in Thammudu, playing the role of a kick boxer. Thammudu was released on 15 July 1999 and was written and directed by P. A. Arun Prasad. On 20 April 2000, he acted in Puri Jagannadh’s first directorial venture, Badri. Produced by T. Trivikrama Rao and music composed by Ramana Gogula.

In 2001, he acted in the film Kushi. The film was released on 27 April 2001 and was directed by S. J. Suryah, which became a huge blockbuster that year. In 2001, he was the brand ambassador for Pepsi at the time his brother Chiranjeevi was promoting Coca-Cola. His next film Johnny, written and directed by himself, released on 26 April 2003. Kalyan also starred in the film, along with Renu Desai, produced by Allu Aravind, and music composed by Ramana Gogula.

In 2004, his film Gudumba Shankar was released. The film was directed by Veera Shankar and produced by Kalyan’s brother Nagendra Babu under Anjana Productions banner. The film’s script and screenplay were written by Kalyan and he also choreographed three songs in this film and action scenes were conceived and choreographed by him. In 2005, the film Balu, directed by A. Karunakaran was released. This was Karunakaran’s second film with Kalyan after Tholi Prema. This film was produced by C. Ashwini Dutt under Vyjayanthi Movies banner.

In 2006, Bangaram, directed by Tamil director Dharani was released. During March 2006, Kalyan launched his second directorial venture Satyagrahi, produced by A. M. Rathnam, which would be a tale questioning the atrocities in society. After spending a few months on pre-production by signing with P. C. Sreeram and A. R. Rahman, the film was later suddenly shelved. Later that year, he appeared in Annavaram, directed by Bhimaneni Srinivasa Rao. Asin, and Sandhya were cast alongside Kalyan in the film and the film was produced under Super Good Films. The film was released on 29 December 2006[38] and collected ₹23 crore (US$2.8 million) in 3 weeks and ₹30 crore (US$3.6 million) in 70 Days. The film was a remake of the Tamil film Thirupaachi.

In 2008, Jalsa, directed by Trivikram Srinivas and produced by Allu Aravind was released on 2 April. This film got the highest first-day collection in Telugu film history and was also the first for any regional film in south India in a single state by that time.  Jalsa turned out to be the highest grosser of 2008 in Telugu cinema. Puli was written and directed by S. J. Suryah and released in 2010. An official announcement was made in the same year that Kalyan was going to play a small role in a movie about Jesus Christ directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao. In 2011, he appeared in Teen Maar, a remake of Love Aaj Kal, directed by Jayanth C. Paranjee. He also appeared in Vishnuvardhan’s gangster film Panjaa.

In 2012, he appeared in Gabbar Singh, a remake of Dabangg, directed by Harish Shankar. The film successfully completed 100 days and stood as the second highest-grossing Telugu film at that time. After this film, he worked in Puri Jagannadh’s Cameraman Gangatho Rambabu.

In 2013, he appeared in Trivikram Srinivas’s Attarintiki Daredi. The film, released on 27 September 2013, faced problems with piracy as half of the movie was leaked to the internet prior to its release. In spite of this the movie was a blockbuster in 2013. The movie completed 100 days in 33 theaters and held the record of the highest-grossing film in Tollywood by that time, surpassing the previous record of Magadheera (2009). Later, it was surpassed by Baahubali: The Beginning (2015).

In 2014, a Star India survey ranked Kalyan as one of the Top 5 Heroes of India.  In 2015, he appeared in Gopala Gopala, a Telugu remake of OMG – Oh My God!.  The film featured Kalyan starring alongside Venkatesh and was directed by Kishore Kumar Pardasani. In 2016, Kalyan’s Sardaar Gabbar Singh, a sequel to his 2012 film Gabbar Singh received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics. Katamarayudu (2017), a remake of Tamil film Veeram marked his second collaboration with Kishore Kumar Pardasani. In 2018, he appeared in the film Agnyaathavaasi directed by Trivikram Srinivas. This marked Kalyan’s 25th film.

In 2021, he made a comeback to films by appearing in Vakeel Saab, directed by Venu Sriram. He announced Hari Hara Veera Mallu, which is being directed by Krish Jagarlamudi. The shooting of the film has currently been on hold for almost 2 years, owing to Kalyan’s political commitments. Mythri Movie Makers also announced Ustaad Bhagat Singh with Kalyan, under the direction of Harish Shankar.[58] He also acted in the remake of Vinodhaya Sitham, Bro, with Sai Dharam Tej, under the direction of Samuthirakani, who also directed the original film. Another film, OG, was subsequently announced with Sujeeth as the director and to be produced by D. V. V. Danayya.

Political career

Praja Rajyam Party

Kalyan started his political career in 2008 as the president of Yuvarajyam,  the youth wing of Praja Rajyam Party which was started by his elder brother Chiranjeevi. He neither contested in elections nor did he hold any constitutional post during his days in Praja Rajyam Party. While he actively campaigned for the party, he was also hit with few health problems. Kalyan was struck with bouts of vomiting, as he was hit by a sunstroke during a roadshow at Vizag on 19 April 2009. Later, in 2011, when Chiranjeevi merged his party with the Congress Party, Kalyan took a break from political life, expressing his silent discontent with his brother’s decision to merge the party.

Jana Sena Party

Kalyan founded a political party named Jana Sena Party on 14 March 2014. He wrote a book titled Ism which is also the ideology of the Jana Sena party. He met with then Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi to discuss the issues related to both the Telugu states and extended his support. He campaigned extensively for the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and BJP alliance in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. He opposed Congress party’s rule stating the slogan Congress Hatao, Desh Bachao (lit. ’Stop Congress, Save the Country’ in Hindi).  His rallies drew what the Deccan-Journal called “huge crowds” in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. In August 2017, he announced that he intended to enter full-time politics starting October 2017 once he completes his film commitments.

Kalyan brought the Uddanam kidney disease crisis to the attention of media and politicians through protests and a hunger strike. Government of Andhra Pradesh responded by constructing dialysis centers and implementing various schemes for the village.  In November 2016, Kalyan announced that Jana Sena will contest in the 2019 general elections in Andhra Pradesh. He stated that he was planning to contest from all 175 legislatures of Andhra Pradesh without any alliance. He opposed central government’s move to privatise Dredging Corporation of India (DCI)[76] on a golden platter. Kalyan led a protest march to condolence farmers who committed suicides or migrated from the drought-prone regions of Rayalaseema. He opposed the TDP Government’s decision on land pooling. Kalyan conducted a march on the historical Dowleswaram Barrage in Rajahmundry demanding political accountability.  He exposed the alleged unchecked mining in the reserve forest area at Vanthada village of Prathipadu in East Godavari district.

Kalyan has announced the Jana Sena party’s 2019 election manifesto at Rajahmundry public meeting with many measures to improve the lives of farmers,  farm labourers, women, youth, and students. His party would contest together with left parties Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), and Bahujan Samaj Party for the upcoming 2019 elections in both Telugu states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. At the same time, when he was actively campaigning for the elections all around Andhra Pradesh, he fell sick and shared a few health problems. As he was getting ready for his next round of campaign at Sattenapalle, he felt dizzy and nauseated. When the chopper was down for refilling at Gannavaram airport, he was down with vomiting, dehydration, and drowsiness. Immediately then, he was hospitalized and treated in Vijayawada. Again the campaign resumed after he got well.

The Jana Sena Party contested 21 constituencies in the 2024 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly election, with Kalyan contesting in Pithapuram constituency. He won by a margin of more than 70,000 votes; Jana Sena Party won in all the contested twenty-one assembly constituencies and two Lok Sabha seats.

On 12 June 2024 Kalyan was sworn in as a cabinet minister of Andhra Pradesh, whereas on 16 June 2024, he was announced as the deputy chief minister.

Other works

Brand endorsements

In April 2001, soft-drink giant Pepsi, announced him as its brand ambassador, making him the first South Indian to endorse the popular soft-drink.
In January 2017, Kalyan agreed to take up the role of the brand ambassador for hand loom weavers in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

In August 2017, Kalyan was asked to be the brand ambassador to JEEVAN DAAN, an initiative started for organ donation by government of Andhra Pradesh.

Personal life

Pawan Kalyan is the younger brother of actors Chiranjeevi and Nagendra Babu. He is also the uncle of actors Ram Charan, Allu Arjun, Varun Tej, Sai Dharam Tej, Vaisshnav Tej, and Niharika.

Kalyan married Nandini in 1997, one year after his film debut. In 2001, Kalyan started a live-in relationship with his co-star from Badri, Renu Desai; their son, Akira Nandan, was born in 2004. In June 2007, Nandini filed a bigamy case on Kalyan alleging that he remarried without divorcing her; Kalyan responded by stating that he had not married Desai and a magistrate court in Visakhapatnam cleared him of the charge due to lack of evidence. Subsequently, in July 2007, Kalyan filed for divorce at a family court in Visakhapatnam claiming that Nandini deserted him immediately after their marriage, which was denied by her lawyer. In August 2008, their divorce was formalized with an alimony of ₹5 crore paid by Kalyan as a one-time settlement.

In 2009, Kalyan married Desai after eight years of live-in companionship.Their daughter Aadya was born in 2010. The couple parted ways in 2012 with a formal divorce. She later mentioned that they separated for personal reasons but she still maintains a very friendly relationship with Kalyan.

Kalyan met his third wife, Anna Lezhneva, a Russian citizen during the shoot of Teen Maar (2011). They married in September 2013 under Special Marriage Act at a Sub-Registrar Office in Hyderabad. The couple has a daughter Polena Anjana Pawanova and a son Mark Shankar Pawanovich.

Outside of work, Kalyan is a black belt in Karate who trains in various martial arts and is an avid reader.