Telugu actor Chiranjeevi on Thursday advised Tamil actors-turned-politicians Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan to “stay away from politics” in an interview to Tamil magazine Ananda Vikatan.
Chiranjeevi, who is Jana Sena Party leader Pawan Kalyan’s elder brother, had launched the Praja Rajyam Party in 2008, only to merge it with the Congress three years later. He has stayed away from active politics since 2014, when the United Progressive Alliance government led by the Congress bifurcated the state.
The actor recalled that he was “number one superstar” in his cinematic career when he decided to join politics with an intention of “doing good” for the people, NDTV reported. “Politics today is all about money and I was defeated in my own constituency using crores of rupees,” Chiranjeevi added. “Same happened to my brother Pawan Kalyan in the recent elections.”
He said to be in politics one needs to face defeat, disappointments and humiliation. Chiranjeevi said he hoped Rajinikanth and Haasan were built differently, and were able to face these challenges if they were determined to continue in politics and work for people.
“This time I thought Kamal’s party would win,” he said. “But that didn’t happen.”
Kamal Haasan contested in 37 constituencies in the Lok Sabha elections held in May. Rajinikanth has not yet formed a political party or contested an election.
“For people who are very sensitive, politics is not their cup of tea,” the actor said. “I hope that Kamal and Rajinikanth are not like me but, my advice to both of them would be – Don’t enter politics.”
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