The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Telugu cinema jubilee: Power-packed celebration for the powerful few?

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Sunday, Jan 28, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Telugu cinema jubilee: Power-packed celebration for the powerful few?

K.V.S. Madhav

Majority of film people excluded from the much-hyped event

IN HIS FOOTSTEPS: Filmstars Pavan Kalyan, Chiranjeevi, Balakrishna and Nagarjuna posing near a `Lord Krishna' statue of NTR during the Telugu film Platinum Jubilee celebrations in the city on Saturday.

HYDERABAD: Glitz and glamour, razzmatazz and teeming with stars and starlets, but utterly lacking in heart. That in short sums up the ongoing Platinum Jubilee celebrations unfolded by the money-rich Telugu film industry at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC).

There was no entry for a majority of the film industry people, leave alone the commoners, without enough moolah. The divide was distinct and approach unprofessional all the way. "What is the purpose of Platinum Jubilee celebrations if the industry does not involve everyone, particularly the film workers -- its cogs in the wheel," asks a prominent filmmaker associated with Telugu cinema for four decades. Another director, famous for his family and revolutionary themes, said that he chose to stay away from the celebrations after being "asked to buy a huge stack of tickets that cost a bomb". Padma Sri awardee Mohan Babu, known for his outspokenness, stayed away from the inaugural function. Shobhan Babu, one of the veterans of Telugu cinema, and Venkatesh were conspicuous by their absence. While some actors went back after not finding a seat for themselves at the auditorium, many were not invited at all, popular director E.V.V. Satyanarayana to name a prominent example, a top filmmaker said.

Commercialisation

While Superstar Krishna left the show midway, Kantha Rao, a contemporary of NTR and ANR, was not even called on to the dais. Ditto with yesteryear comedian Padmanabham, award winning director Singeetam Srinivasa Rao and others. "Is the film industry all about a few stars? Despite the greatness of the moment, commercialism was the order of the day," a representative of the film employees union said.

The organisers were not available for comment.

In contrast, the celebrations organised by the State Film Television Theatre Development Corporation were austere and complete with the commonest of the commoners united by the love for Telugu cinema.

A sexagenarian painstakingly writing down the credits and storylines of all the 4,005 films released so far in Telugu, another film buff with his collection of rare song books and film material and total strangers marvelling, revelling and sharing the wonder world called yesteryear Telugu cinema.

That only brings to fore the question: Why was there a need for two official functions celebrating the same event, the lack of coordination between them as glaring as the glare of the arc lights?

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