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A warm bonhomie between cinema stars and the political class has been prevalent for years together now, especially in Tamil and Telugu cinema, where many actors and superstars have had long-lasting runs as politicians, and even Chief Ministers. However, this bonhomie was put to test recently with the Sandhya theatre stampede row that saw an intense war of words being exchanged between the Telangana government and Allu Arjun. With the dust gradually settling down on the issue that saw Arjun spending a night in jail, and being charged for the death of a woman, and the injuries to her son, during the benefit show of Pushpa 2, the focus has shifted to mending this chasm between cinema and politics. On Thursday, there was a meeting between prominent film personalities and the Telangana CM Revanth Reddy, where a variety of issues were discussed about Telugu cinema, and the support of the government.
This meeting was attended by the likes of Deputy CM Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, Cinematography minister Komatireddy Venkatareddy, top-level members of the police force, and film personalities, including newly appointed Telangana Film Development Corporation chairman Dil Raju. It is reported that among many things that were part of the discussion, the CM reasserted the end of benefit shows in the state, and how law and order would not be compromised for the sake of cinema-related celebrations.
Meeting the media after this interaction, Dil Raju revealed that the Telangana CM emphasised the need to elevate Telugu cinema to the next level, and promised support towards such endeavours. “He has a vision for Telugu cinema, and said that it is not enough to be the talking point at the national level, but we must aim for becoming an important powerhouse in the global level,” said Raju, who added that the CM has also urged the FDC to figure out how Hyderabad can become an international hub for filmmaking.
“The CM wanted Hyderabad, which is already the go-to spot for making not just Telugu, but Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, and many more cinema industries, to become the hub for Hollywood too,” said Raju. He also shared that the government called for the industry’s participation in supporting people-friendly activities like the crusade against drugs, and rehabilitation of the youth and society. “We discussed the need and importance of cooperation between the industry and the government, and how our actors and filmmakers would ensure the reach of the government messages towards the betterment of society.”
Dil Raju also spoke about how the meeting saw a discussion about the various needs of the Telugu film industry. “Whatever the industry needs for its betterment, we asked him through the Telangana and Telugu Film Chamber. We put forth the problems we face during shoots, conducting events, etc… and we asked the DGP for support,” said Raju, expressing his happiness about the success of the meeting.
When asked about the government’s decision to do away with benefit shows and pumped up ticket prices, Raju dismissed them as just a small part of cinema, and said, “Telugu cinema’s elevation to the next level is the agenda. Ticket prices and special shows are just a small part. The vision is on a bigger scale, and that is what we would work towards.”
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