Days after actor Pawan Kalyan went public affirming his support for BJP’s prime ministerial candidate and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, another popular Telugu film star Akkineni Nagarjuna raised several eyebrows by calling on Mr. Modi in a surprise visit at Gandhinagar on Monday.
The actor, who was with Mr. Modi for 20-25 minutes, said the country would benefit if the BJP leader becomes the Prime Minister. He expressed confidence that Mr. Modi would strive to develop both Telangana and the successor State. Mr. Nagarjuna, however, denied that he would be entering politics. He told the media in Ahmedabad that he was impressed with the development taken up in Gujarat.
Visits model villageAccording to a BJP functionary, who accompanied Mr. Nagarjuna, the actor earlier visited a model village Punsari, an hour’s drive from Gandhinagar, and was impressed by its development. He reportedly told Mr. Modi that he would like to replicate the model in his native village of Ramapuram in Krishna district and “fulfil his father’s (late Akkineni Nageswara Rao) dream.”
The village sarpanch made a presentation to the actor and explained the facilities available in the village, according to the BJP functionary. Having a population of 6,000, the village is Wifi-enabled and Rs.10 per month is charged from users. It has 24-hour power supply and refrigerated as well as normal drinking water is provided through pipelines. It has cement concrete roads, five schools, a primary health centre and a public address system with speakers for the sarpanch to address people.
Mr. Modi told Mr. Nagarjuna that he had heard about him from his relatives who met him at a resort in Kerala two years ago. “They told me that you are a simple man though a superstar in films,” the Gujarat Chief Minister was believed to have told Mr. Nagarjuna. Mr. Modi also offered to provide technical help to Mr. Nagarjuna in turning his native village into a model one.
