'No politics in cinema': Pawan Kalyan's 'powerful lines' at Game Changer event get praise from Sandeep Reddy Vanga

The pre-release event of Shankar’s maiden Telugu film, Game Changer, starring Ram Charan and Kiara Advani in lead roles, took place in Rajahmundry on Saturday evening. Actor-Deputy CM of AP Pawan Kalyan was the chief guest at the event, where he delivered a long speech on cinema and politics. Director Sandeep Reddy Vanga lauded him, sharing his speech on X (formerly Twitter). (Also Read: 2 fans die after attending Ram Charan-Pawan Kalyan's Game Changer event; producer donates ₹10 lakh)

Sandeep Reddy Vanga lauds Pawan Kalyan

Sandeep posted a video of the almost 1-hour long speech Pawan delivered at the Game Changer event. Sharing it, he wrote about agreeing with Pawan’s view of not mixing cinema and politics. He wrote, “CINEMA should be treated as a separate entity & No politics should seep into CINEMA. Powerful lines by POWERSTAR. Thank you sir.”

Pawan delivered a long speech at the event, explaining why, despite his scepticism, he understood how such an event benefited the film. He also said, “I worry for the safety of the fans. Enjoy a movie as a movie; an evening of entertainment shouldn’t turn fatal. Don’t fall over each other to watch a hero.”

Addressing the conversation around ticket hikes, Pawan indirectly hit out the previous governance in AP, stating, “There were days when I bought tickets to Shankar garu’s movies in Chennai in black, that money went to someone else. Now, if people are willing to pay more to watch their favourite hero’s film on the first day, the money goes to the government through GST. It’s pure demand and supply. But now, there’s some false narrative around it. I suffered when my film Bheemla Nayak (2022) was released due to it too,” referring to how the previous government had a cap on movie ticket prices.

Pawan then claimed that politics has no place in cinema, stating, “Cinema should be treated as a separate entity; no politics should seep into cinema. If you don’t make movies, you do not need to talk about them. There is no need to drag cinema into politics. Why do heroes need to beg someone or grovel to hike ticket prices? But Chiranjeevi, Prabhas, Mahesh Babu, all had to do it.” The actor-politician also urged Indian cinema to be united instead of apeing Hollywood.

About Game Changer

Game Changer will be released in theatres on January 10 for Sankranthi. In addition to Ram and Kiara, the film also stars Anjali, Samuthirakani, SJ Suryah, Srikanth, Prakash Raj, and Sunil in key roles. It has been in production since 2021 and is Shankar’s next film after the disastrous Indian 2.