I grew up like Meena from Chanti, barely leaving home: Pawan Kalyan

On Friday, Tollywood superstar-turned-AP Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan celebrated the 11th formation day of his political party with a speech that had a little bit of everything you’d expect from a T’wood potboiler — high-octane political drama, flashbacks, and punch dialogues that had the crowd on their feet. For the movie buffs, however, it was his candid confessions from childhood that truly stole the show, offering a glimpse into how his father’s strict discipline, his own simple aspirations, and life’s unpredictable twists shaped him into the man he is today. Excerpts:‘My father wanted me to become an SI, but I couldn’t complete my degree’My father always said, ‘I couldn’t finish my degree, but if you complete yours and become an SI, you’ll retire with a rank higher than a DSP.’ Unfortunately, I never could finish my degree. My elder brother stumbled into acting, but I was content with my simple life in our small house in Fathekhanpet, Nellore. Apart from wishing for another piece of mango, I never yearned for wealth or fame.‘I was Extremely sensitive child with asthma, so I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere’I was raised like Meena in the Tamil film Chinna Thambi (remade in Telugu as Chanti), never allowed to step outside the house. My parents constantly worried about what might happen if I went out, especially since I was a sensitive child with asthma. I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere.I remember enrolling in a computer course when we moved to Madras. One evening, the final project took longer than expected, and I ended up getting home at 10:30 PM instead of the usual 6 PM. When I walked in, my elder brother had cancelled his shoot to come home. The entire family was in a panic, frantically wondering where I had disappeared to. That was how protective my family was of me.‘Watching my elder brothers face my father’s wrath, straightened me up’In Yamudiki Mogudu, there’s a scene where Prasad Babu’s character straightens up when Chiranjeevi garu’s character gives someone next to him a beating. That’s how I was. Watching my elder brothers face my father’s wrath straightened me up. Even after my career took off with hits like Akkada Ammayi Ikkada Abbayi, Gokulamlo Seeta, Suswagatham, and Tholi Prema, I remained terrified of my father.