Actor-politician, Pawan Kalyan who suffered a huge setback in his poll debut in Andhra Pradesh, has now claimed that it took him just 15 minutes to recover from the loss.
The actor who attended the TANA (Telugu Association of North America) conference 2019, spoke about his loss in the elections and said, “After suffering defeat, it just took me 15 minutes to completely recover. I accepted my defeat for 15 minutes. Failure taught me several lessons... every defeat made me closer to success. I didn’t fear defeat because I didn’t do any scam or betray someone. I entered politics believing certain values, and if it gives me a defeat, I’ll take it happily.”
Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party had contested the Andhra Pradesh elections this year. However, the party faced a humiliating defeat, as only one MLA from their party won the elections. Pawan Kalyan himself, who had contested from two seats – Bhimavaram and Gajuwaka – lost both elections.
Recalling his earlier failures, the actor disclosed that he lost interest in films after Kushi. Explaining the reason, he said, “When we were celebrating 100 days of Kushi in Sandhya theatre, a lot of youngsters were there. I asked them how many of you will take a vow against eve-teasing, and none of them raised their hands. That day I realised that cinema won’t change people. And if I have any responsibility towards the society, I should come out and do something about it... that day I made that resolve.”
He added, “Since that day I lost interest in films and it shifted towards society and I read volumes of books about the Constituent Assembly.”
“After that my success drastically reduced. I was waiting so patiently for success. In fact after Kushi my success was with Gabbar Singh,” he said. Kushi released in 2001 and Gabbar Singh released in 2012.
Pawan Kalyan said that anti-apartheid revolutionary Nelson Mandela and his book Long Walk to Freedom inspired and gave him a lot of courage. “I learnt how to accept failures from him.”
Further Pawan Kalyan said that he grew up without knowing what caste groups were. “After growing up I learnt that there’s so much discrimination and hatred. Everyone divides people, but I came to unify them. Even if it gives me a defeat I will accept it. But won’t do politics by dividing people.”
Here's the full speech: