CM assures all help to Tollywood

Andhra Pradesh chief minister said the Telugu film industry, headquartered in Hyderabad, has hinted at moving to new locations if the turmoil in the state continued.

“Some people, who still have business links in Chennai, are apprehensive about the situation and are considering Chennai as a viable option,” he told the media.

The state government, on its part, was willing to talk to the industry to ensure that it did not move out of Hyderabad, he said.

Several people had worked for many years to get the Telugu cinema industry to Hyderabad from the erstwhile Madras.

It was providing large scale employment to the locals here, he said, adding the city with proven theatre and allied infrastructure could attract projects from Bollywood too.

It may be recalled that a few shootings had been stalled due to the ongoing Telangana agitation. It started with the shooting of Manoj, son of veteran actor Mohan Babu.

Following this, Mohan Babu planned a 'shanthi yatra' to protest the attack, but the government did not given permission to conduct the rally.

Likewise, shootings of Allu Arjun, nephew of actor-turned-politician and founder of Praja Rajyam Party K Chiranjeevi, and Junior NTR, grandson of veteran actor and Telugu Desam Party founder NT Rama Rao, were disrupted. The activists also damaged a set of a film starring Mahesh Babu, son of actor Krishna.

Rosaiah said the state government had been extending various incentives to encourage the film industry.

According to director and producer Tammareddy Bharadwaja, the film industry employs about 12,000 people directly and 1,00,000 indirectly. There are over 2,800 theatres in the state and the annual turnover of the industry is upwards of Rs 500 crore.

“There have been continuous disturbances in the recent days. These have upset the schedule of several parties,'” he said, adding completion of shooting on time was necessary to honour call sheet commitments.

“People would be forced to explore other options if the unrest is prolonged,” he said.