There’s no stopping Telugu megastar and Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan.
Quiz him on anything against the saffron ideology, and he is quick to retort.
Kalyan, whose Jansaena Party is part of the TDP-led Andhra Pradesh dispensation, has now entered the language debate that has sparked a political tug of war among regional parties to score brownie points.
The Power Star, as he is fondly known, emphatically underlines the importance of being multilingual – something that the BJP has been attempting to champion beyond regional biases.
Promoting his latest venture, Hari Hara Veera Mallu, Kalyan says, “You need to learn as many languages as possible. I am a Telugu speaker, yet I am not against Hindi or any other language,” he said.
Kalyan, on occasions, has been more aggressive espousing the saffron ideology than many hardcore saffron leaders themselves.
And Kalyan’s latest reverence for Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj could be a shot in the arm for Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and team.
The ruling BJP in Maharashtra has been facing flak for the ‘imposition of Hindi’ with the Thackeray cousins (Raj and Uddhav) going hammer and tongs defending the Marathi language and culture.
Kalyan, on the other hand, emphatically calls for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to be taught in schools. “You talk so highly about Akbar. You glorify an invader like Babur. But why were we not taught about Vijayanagara? The main thing was how Chhatrapati Shivaji came to the rescue of Tamil Nadu temples. How come that was not told? I accept that the rest of the dynasties have never been given the recognition they deserve. I think we have the right to know about it,” he said in an interview to PTI.
His film Hari Hara Veera Mallu, which has the Mughal era as a backdrop, Kalyan adds, “This film, we started around 4-5 years back… This particular film was interesting for me because it is based on more of a Mughal era, and as a kid, when we used to study in school, Mughals were quite glorified, and the rest of the dynasties were never glorified. So for me, that was very interesting.”
The movie that takes an anti-Mughal stance is in consonance with the Narendra Modi government’s effort to remove anything to do with Mughal eulogy from school textbooks.
Kalyan, despite his stardom down south, has never been keen on taking on the challenge beyond the south, yet his fan base is enviable. At the same time, his zeal as a political leader within a short span has often hit the headlines.
So, no wonder the BJP uses his star power to jettison the Opposition onslaught.
At a time when southern states like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, both ruled by non-BJP parties, are up against the so-called foisting of Hindu, Kalwan’s diatribes against regional bigotry are like a Godsend for the saffron tenets.
Yet, his affection for regional icons like Shivaji gives his alliance partner the BJP enough leeway to get back at its detractors, especially in a state like Maharashtra, where the pot is boiling over the language conundrum.
Either way, Kalyan turns out to be an asset for the BJP.
