Pawan Kalyan Has a Heart That Loves Intensely - Konidela Nagababu

Konidela Nagababu, the National General Secretary of the Jana Sena Party, is known for his humility both in politics and the film industry. As the birthday of Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan approaches, Nagababu spoke with The Hans India to share personal and professional insights about his younger brother.

Q: What are the qualities you like in him as a brother and as a politician?

Nagababu: As a brother, Kalyan babu has a heart that loves intensely. He loves everyone deeply. Our luck is that our mom's actions have made us so loving towards each other among our brothers and sisters. Even after we are married and have kids of our own, the bond between our brothers and sisters is unshakeable. We meet very often. Kalyan babu is also the same loving person. But one minus point he has is he doesn't communicate his love. Big brother Chiranjeevi also communicates less, but Kalyan babu communicates even less. I express my love for them more than anyone else. As a politician, Kalyan babu is incredibly passionate about justice. He has always been concerned about why laws are different for the rich and the poor and why there is so much injustice against marginalised communities.

Q: How did you feel about Pawan Kalyan's winning?

Nagababu: Politics is not our bread and butter. We don't have to earn anything from politics. Through films, people gave us a lot of support. Only for service purposes, every human being should do something for this country. We all have this opportunity to do that service through politics. For Kalyan babu, he thinks more than that. He always questions things like, "Why should the law discriminate depending on money? Why is it different for a rich person and a poor person?" Why so much injustice for poor people and women? He thinks a lot about these kinds of issues and has dissatisfaction with the government.

He started with Praja Rajyam, and with tremendous hard work for about 20 years, he has now reached the Deputy CM position. This is all we wished for. Truly because of that, we are in the field of service, and we feel we have achieved our dream.

Q: Will you let us know Pawan Kalyan's passion for knowledge and politics?

Nagababu: Kalyan babu, even from his school days, was gaining knowledge, reading newspapers, and studying Indian history. In the 8th class, he read “Takattu lo Bharata Desham”, Nani Balki's books, other national and international revolutionary books, and autobiographies of great people. He compared the histories of all countries. He used to struggle a lot with learning about the injustices of what happened and what's happening. The cinema industry has helped him reach his goal of reaching the maximum number of people easily through the medium of cinema. Cinema helped convey his ideologies to people easily. He used his cinema background as a stepping stone for his politics. People started to like him more as a character than an actor. We are always under public scrutiny. Everyone knows our characters, not just by our words. Kalyan babu has fans for his character alone. It's an evolution.

Q: How is Pawan Kalyan managing political stress?

Nagababu: He used to farm and read books, yes, but when he went into the administration side, he became too busy to eat. Now it's all new, so within six months, he may get some spare time to finish off his pending projects. He may need six more months to balance everything and work normally. He read "Revolution with a Straw," a Japanese book that inspired Kalyan babu for farming.

Q: What suggestions did you give when he entered politics?

Nagababu: The first time we started Praja Rajyam, all three brothers were united, there was no difference of opinion. We genuinely moved forward. Kalyan babu was the President of Yuvarajyam. Before that, he started the Common Man Protection Force. When our political party started, he felt this was the destination for his vision, so he joined Praja Rajyam. Due to unavoidable circumstances, Praja Rajyam dissolved into Congress. Kalyan babu didn't take part in that dissolution. Then he started his own party. Initially, I felt sad that he started the Jana Sena Party because I feel that politics is a stressful job. Chiranjeevi used to take a lot of stress, so I felt that why should Pawan Kalyan also take that. Out of love, I didn't want him to go into politics. I saw him as a younger brother but didn't realize his intensity of social consciousness. For the first time, when he started the Jana Sena Party and hosted a meeting in 2014, after seeing that, I changed my mind and started supporting him. I didn't want him to get too stressed, so I wanted to support his vision.

Q: Can you tell us about Pawan Kalyan's Spiritual Evolution?

Nagababu: My father was a religious person. He was an Anjaneya devotee, a Ram devotee. We all have his influence. So, Kalyan babu, since childhood, used to read spiritual books and do yogic practices. We also used to do it, but Kalyan babu did more. Chiranjeevi also used to do pujas and meditation. So, Kalyan babu has spiritual thinking, he used to do “homaalu” and “yagaalu”. He has a few great gurus who guide him. He used to follow them. If you observe, the name of the vehicle is Varahi. At first, I didn't understand why Varahi. Later, I read about the Varahi goddess, who is an army general for the Durga goddess's army. Knowing about her and how to pray to her, he followed all those rituals. Her temples are in North India. After knowing the rituals to pray to such a lesser-known goddess, he followed them all. The vehicle he drives, named Varahi, means the one who destroys her enemies; she is the general of Durga goddess's army. So he is always full of analysis. He is not a blind believer. For everything, there is logic and analysis. There is a combination of religious, political, and simplicity. What I love most about Kalyan babu is he doesn't hide anything. He spends his money easily on anyone. But if it's the party's money, even one rupee he spends like 1 crore. He is always a giver. He never says no; his heart melts easily when looking at other people's troubles. I feel proud of how he turned out. In the climax of the movie Baba, Rajinikanth doesn't go to the Himalayas but stays to purify politics in the country. That's how I feel about Kalyan babu.

Q: What do you think about the recent feat of organising 13,326 grama sabhas in a single day?

Nagababu: If villages are strong, then only the country will be strong. The 13,326 gram sabhas in one day is a big achievement. YCP has ruined the gram system. So, Kalyan babu first signed that MGNREGA works should perform well. His first signing on MGNREGA was to support horticulture farmers.

In tribal villages, they started to build gram panchayat buildings. Tribal villages are the most neglected areas. Measures have been taken to strengthen the gram panchayats. The first gram panchayats to celebrate national days like Independence Day and Republic Day, to inculcate the nation spirit, are given ₹10,000 to ₹25,000 to celebrate all flag-hoisting days, especially to inspire children, honour military personnel, and sanitation workers. Recently, ₹4,000 crore in government funds were approved for MGNREGA and gram panchayats. He gave matching grants and got the funds from the central government. All these days, even matching grants were not given. Modi also respects Pawan Kalyan; he says that it's because he knows that he fights for the state and not for himself. Modi himself realised that "How much I love my country, Pawan Kalyan loves his state." He is a young guy but still maintains cordial relations at the central level and uses all his power to do good for the state.

Q: Generally, people, especially those in movies, go into politics after a certain period of their career. But Pawan Kalyan went into politics when his career was at its peak.

Nagababu: If we think deeply, whoever is in politics are the people who were in politics from the beginning, a few IAS or IPS or rich people are in politics. There are very few like Kalyan babu or Chiranjeevi. After gaining a lot of name and fame for themselves, people go into politics. But the percentage is less when compared to others. Even Modi has been in politics since he was young. NTR and MGR also came into politics at the age of 60. Ronald Reagan, Shatrughan Sinha, and Jaya Prada, they all came later. Yes, Pawan Kalyan went into politics when he was at the top of his career. Even now, he is on top. No hero has his kind of penetration. Everyone loves him. But he left it so easily and went into politics. We say to him, "Do at least one movie per year." Honestly, a politician takes at least two months of rest; in just 40 days, he can complete a movie. He can use his time for politics. We wish him to do movies. He has to do movies for his and his family's survival. Kalyan babu may lose his assets in politics, but he is not a person who earns a lot in politics. So, for his survival, he has to do movies. He sold many assets that were under his children’s names. He even sold some old plots at hiked prices and spent that money also on the party. He agreed to do movies after telling him that. When people asked him about OG, he didn't even understand initially but told them to keep quiet as he came for a political meeting. Honestly, now for Kalyan babu, "cinema has become a hobby." Because he is a serious politician. Fans also feel that Kalyan babu should do at least one movie per year. Even me too. There is a mutual understanding between Kalyan babu and the fans.

Q: Can you tell us any fun incidents that involved all the three brothers?

Nagababu: Fun incidents? (laughs). Now that you suddenly asked, I'm not able to remember. But yes, we meet for festivals and events and have fun. Not everyone knows but Pawan Kalyan teases everyone at home. He feels big brother Chiranjeevi fatherly and quiet in front of him but he secretly plays small pranks and teases everyone. I'm openly a fun person, I'm like the bridge among our brothers and sisters, but Kalyan babu is a “silent teaser”!

Q: You're politically active, how are you managing this new phase?

Nagababu: I don't have to stand up for your kids anymore. They are having their own careers now. Now, I rarely take acting projects. I can't claim to be a politician, but I can proudly say I'm a Jana Sena Party worker. I see it as a form of public service. Everyone should aspire to be great like Modi, Chandrababu Naidu, or Pawan Kalyan, if not possible then at least support someone great like Pawan Kalyan. The most stress I felt was during the election period because we worked so hard. Now, I'm not stressed, our focus is on how to bring the party closer to the public and strengthen it.

Q: How is Pawan Kalyan managing the stress associated with politics?

Nagababu: On the political side, he only faces work pressure, not mental stress. The only time he felt mental stress was in organising the party. Kalyan babu has a strong team supporting him, including Krishna Teja, an IAS officer from Andhra who serves as his Secretary and Panchayat Raj Commissioner. He's an efficient worker and a good human being. Alongside him, we have Ajay Kumar, the Jana Sena Media Coordinator, Mareddy Srinivas, MLC Hari Prasad, and myself. We are a strong team, standing by him because we believe in the good he does for the state. He continues to perform as we expect.

Q: Are there any specific political issues you are passionate about?

Nagababu: Yes, I'm passionate about addressing basic needs that are still lacking. Many people don't have access to clean drinking water, and issues like fluorosis and kidney problems are prevalent. Kalyan babu is working hard to strengthen the villages and tackle these problems.

Q: Do you think there will ever be a movie featuring all three brothers, Megastar Chiranjeevi, Power Star Pawan Kalyan, you, and also Ram Charan?

Nagababu: (laughs) I wish for that too! I'm hoping someone will come up with a project that brings all three of us brothers together in a movie. I've been waiting for it, and I hope someone makes it happen.