Actress, filmmaker, stylist and animal welfare activist Renu Desai and Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Pawan Kalyan divorced in 2012. Even after 14 years, Renu is seen in the eyes of most people in relation to Pawan Kalyan. In a recent conversation, Renu Desai compared his situation to Lord Rama’s 14-year exile. She said she cannot predict when her plight will end as public perception of her still revolves around Pawan Kalyan.
“For Telugu people, here’s something about my life. I was born in June 1999, when I came for Badri. Before that, I didn’t really have a life. That’s how people do it,” she said on the Vishal Talks podcast.
“It has been 14 years. Lord Rama was also in exile, but only for 14 years. When will my exile end?” asked the actor.
Renu Desai said that the Telugu audience treated him as if he had started his life when he arrived in Hyderabad for the Pawan Kalyan-starrer ‘Badri’ and had done nothing before that.
“We got divorced in 2012, right? After 2012, I did a Marathi film which was a superhit. Then I wrote, produced and directed another film. I did a dance show, wrote poetry, now I’m doing films. Why would anyone call me if I’m nobody?” He said.
Talking about the constant trolls on social media and constant scrutiny over her marriage and divorce from Pawan Kalyan, Renu said, “People are scolding me, saying I will save a dog. They call it Vashdi in Telugu. She should have nothing to live without him.”
Pawan Kalyan is currently the Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and the President of the Jana Sena Party. After his divorce from Desai, he married actress Anna Lezhneva in 2013. While he shares a son with Anna, Renu Desai and Pawan Kalyan have two children: son Akira and daughter Adiya.
Renu Desai started her career as a model in Mumbai, participated in Femina Miss India, appeared in over 30 advertisements and appeared in the music video Breathless.
She appeared in two Telugu films, Badri (2000) and Johnny (2003), both opposite Pawan Kalyan. He was also the production designer on Johnny.
After her divorce in 2012, she produced and directed a Marathi film, acted as a judge in Drama Juniors for Zee Telugu, starred in Tiger Nageswara Rao (2023), wrote poetry and shot a Telugu film titled Kashi Majili for ETV. She runs an animal rescue NGO that treats stray dogs and cats for free.