Pawan Kalyan Wraps Up 3 Films, Eyes Pan-India Challenge

Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Pawan Kalyan, has managed to balance politics and cinema in a remarkable fashion. Despite handling four key ministries, he wrapped up three long-pending films in just four months. “His commitment to finishing these projects shows how he has grown both as an actor and as a politician and is doing a fine balancing act,” says producer-director M. S. Raju.

Before the 2024 elections, Pawan’s political focus left his films stalled in the middle.. Post polls, he quickly cleared the backlog: Hari Hara Veera Mallu was completed in May and released in July.

OG was wrapped in June and is now gearing up for release on September 25. Ustaad Bhagat Singh has also been completed recently. “Each of these films is different in style, yet he managed to finish them on time. Now, he is ready for new challenges,” Raju adds.

Having ruled Telugu cinema with blockbusters like Kushi, Jalsa, and Attarintiki Daredi, Pawan is now turning his gaze towards the Hindi market. His fiery political speeches and rising stature have given him a pan-India image through social and national media. “In North India, OG will benefit from this fearless image that blurs the line between his onscreen and off-screen persona,” Raju observes. Directed by Sujeeth, OG is set in the gangster-ridden Mumbai of the 1980s and is being produced by D. V. V. Danayya of RRR fame. With its scale and subject, it is designed as a pan-India release.

Still, Raju cautions: “Star power brings the audience on day one, but only fresh storytelling keeps them in theatres. Both OG and Ustaad Bhagat Singh have the potential, but it’s the content that will decide.” For Pawan Kalyan, the next unfinished task is clear—winning over Hindi audiences in a big way. And that moment, Raju believes, may come in 2025.