Actor-politician Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party (JSP), a part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), was one of the big winners in the recently concluded Lok Sabha and Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections. On Tuesday, the Telugu superstar was unanimously elected as the party floor leader in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly where the JSP has 21 legislators.
Celebrating this significant achievement, Mr Kalyan returned home to a warm welcome from his wife, Anna Lezhneva. In a heartwarming moment that soon went viral, Ms Lezhneva performed aarti and applied a sacred tika on his forehead.
Celebrating the success with Family ????#Pawankalyan #Akiranandan pic.twitter.com/qPh0lxFpd6
— Suresh PRO (@SureshPRO_) June 4, 2024
Who is Anna Lezhneva?
1. Anna Lezhneva was born in Russia in 1980. She is a model-actress, who met Pawan Kalyan during the filming of Teen Maar in 2011. Their on-set romance blossomed into a relationship, and after two years of dating, they got married on September 30, 2013. Ms Lezhneva is Pawan Kalyan’s third wife.
2. The couple has a son, Mark Shankar Pawanovich. Ms Lezhneva also has a daughter, Polena Anjana Pawanova, from her first marriage.
3. Beyond her modelling career, Ms Lezhneva is rumoured to own hotel chains in Singapore and is said to have assets, including properties in both Russia and Singapore, worth around ₹1800 crore.
4. Ms Lezhneva’s relationship with Mr Kalyan faced scrutiny and challenges, given the Telugu superstar’s marital history. He previously married 19-year-old Nandini in 1997. That marriage ended in divorce in 2008. He then married actress Renu Desai in 2009, and they had two children, Akira Nandan and Aadhya, before they parted ways in 2012.
5. Reports of Anna Lezhneva and Pawan Kalyan’s separation also emerged when the model-actress wasn’t in attendance at important family gatherings such as Telugu star Varun Tej’s engagement and Ram Charan and Upasana’s daughter’s cradle ceremony. However, despite rumours of marital discord, Ms Lezhneva has been actively involved in her husband’s public life. She was present and supportive during Pawan Kalyan’s recent election victory, performing traditional rituals and greeting fans, quashing separation rumours.
