The stern and unsmiling Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan revealed an unusually candid – and at moments, even emotional – side in a recent televised conversation with Malayalam cinema superstar Mohanlal, organised by the state Public Relations Department.
“I was quite fond of reading epics like the Mahabharata and devotional stories from childhood. Even while I was terrified of ghosts and demons, I was deeply drawn to the ascetics in these epics. That stayed with me—and perhaps explains why I am not enamoured of positions or anxious about losing them,” said the Marxist supremo.
Known primarily as a man of action, Vijayan also confessed to being a diehard fan of Tamil superstar Rajinikanth’s action films. “I love your action films too,” he told Mohanlal, in a rare moment of warmth.
Yet, whatever his professed detachment from power, the stakes could scarcely be higher. If the Left Democratic Front (LDF) he leads loses the upcoming Assembly election, it would be a severe blow—not just to Kerala, but to the entire Indian Left. Kerala, which stunned the world in 1957 by electing India’s first Communist government, now remains the last major bastion of Left power. Significantly, this moment coincides with the centenary of the Communist movement in India—adding historical weight to an already crucial contest.