Pawan Kalyan received overwhelming response from the Telugu speaking people of the US on his 5 day tour. The actor turned politician touched upon many topics, ranging from personal struggles, movies and politics. As anticipated his visit to the Harvard University has given a significant mileage to his political career which is going to take full shape in the coming year. The youth have been vocal about the stigmas associated with various issues in the society. He touched upon sensitive issues which are rarely discussed in front of the Telugu audience –
When Kalyan spoke about Depression
Everybody knows about depression but nobody wants to talk about it, as the society attaches labels such as dysfunctional to people and families. People suffer and experience pain and it takes real guts to speak about depression and the thought of committing suicide. Telugu regions are conservative and such discussions hardly happen. In such place, Kalyan did not see his depression as the enemy but as an expression of struggle. Confessing about depression he said, “My focus was not on education; my focus was on issues that plagued the society. It made me go into depression. I wanted to commit suicide. As most of you know my brother was an actor by then. He owned a licensed pistol. I wanted to kill myself but my family counselled me.”
We need to look deeper into this phenomenon to understand it and overcome it. Firstly, stop victimizing the victim. The question one should ask is ‘if Chiranjeevi’s brother can face it, then anybody can’. When people experienced such sadness, friends and family support them through the difficult times likewise Kalyan had his support system in place. We should ask ourselves are we part of the support system for someone else.
When he announced the Jana Sena Transgender Wing
As the world is evolving and focusing on the rights of transgenders, In India transgender community is one of the most misrepresented community. Especially in the Telugu regions transgender people are usually stereotyped as sex workers, beggars or criminals. Due to lack of awareness, people often call anyone who is a little effeminate hijra or kojja. Cutting all the societal barriers, Kalyan has announced a plan of creating a party wing for Transgenders and giving equal representation for all.
Being openly transgender is a brave thing as a larger sect is not aware of the sects in the community. This platform created by Kalyan will be a very big boost to the community who are often rejected. But the stigma and challenges in the society are a reminder of the hard work that lies ahead for Jana Sena.
When he acknowledged his critiques
There are several times Kalyan was critiqued for his speeches, for taking a stand or for not taking a stand. He openly stated that he received a lot of threats when he entered politics which of course had a zero influence on his decision. In his recent press conference, he made revelations on how politicians tried to manipulate him. He even claimed that he wouldn’t have come this far if he had been scared of all the threats but added that he is conscious of what he speaks on issues.
Truth has been spoken and when a fresher does that everyone ensures to thoroughly whip them. Kalyan acknowledged that the words of his critiques are being heard and said “I received a good beating from my teacher for raising doubts over the lack of facilities in school. Now, I am being criticized by the politicians for doing the same with regard to societal problems”
He said he would continue his fight for special category status because the state has promised its people. TDP which calls it a closed issue, will not be closed until Kalyan is convinced by TDP.
When he met political strategist
Kalyan said that he could never be livelier than being in politics and looks like the Jana Sena leader is here to stay. He had a two-hour closed-door discussion with Harvard University Professor Steve Jarding, who is also a renowned political strategist. Kalyan and Jarding possibly discussed an action plan for the upcoming 2019 general elections
For the first time Kalyan spoke about Jana Sena’s Organizational Structure. Apart from the Transgender wing, he also announced the proposal of having a separate NRI wing. The actor who claimed that politics is a natural progression for him, called for his iconic red towel from back stage during his speech. He said that the red towel is not a style statement but it signifies a common man’s symbol who use it irrespective of caste creed and color. Jana Sena got its official sash.