During visit to Paritala family, Pawan Kalyan denies tonsuring rumours

Janasena chief Pawan Kalyan, who is on  the 'Chalore Chalore Chal' yatra, visited the house of slain Telugu Desam  Party leader Paritala Ravi, ending  an alleged decades-long uneasiness between the Paritala family and the Chiranjeevi family.

Actor-turned-politician K Chiranjeevi is Pawan's elder brother.

Ravi's widow and state minister Paritala Sunitha and her son Paritala Sriram gave a warm welcome to  Pawan and offered him a choicest spread of the Rayalaseema breakfast.

In 1998, Pawan Kalyan, who used to sport long hair, appeared in public with his head tonsured. Rumours soon spread that he was kidnapped by Paritala Ravi and was tonsured while he was on a tour to Anantapur district.

The rumours also said Pawan had attracted Ravi's ire by entering his territory without  informing him.

For almost a decade, neither Pawan nor Chiranjeevi clarified on the issue.

However, after launching the Janasena Party, Pawan, addressing a public meeting, had said he had no issues with the Paritala family.

"I was fed up with my hair and  got it tonsured one day. Within months,  a story about Paritala Ravi having tonsured my head hit the headlines.  I am not a hot-blooded person but would have reacted bravely had such an  incident occurred. It (rumours) was the work of a few TDP leaders," Pawan said.

Both Pawan and Sunitha on Sunday said this was the first time he was visiting the Paritala family.

"I am here to  obtain information about the irrigation work undertaken in the Raptadu constituency," he said. Sunitha, directing officials to provide Pawan the information he sought, said the tonsuring  rumours are a myth.

Some sources also said the only issue between the two families was regarding a piece of land adjacent to Paritala's house in Film Nagar, Hyderabad that Chiranjeevi wanted to buy.

They added that Ravi asked Chiranjeevi to not go for it owing to security issues and  Chiranjeevi dropped the idea.