The Hindu : Front Page : Film personalities show Chiranjeevi cold shoulder

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Sep 09, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Front Page

Front Page

Film personalities show Chiranjeevi cold shoulder

Suresh Krishnamoorthy

HYDERABAD: Even as Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam is making efforts to woo some film personalities, there is a lull in the party in terms of new entrants.

No big political leader has evinced interest in the party since the Telugu Desam’s Tammineni Sitaram joined four days ago. Even those like C. Ramachandraiah, former Rajya Sabha member who quit the TDP, have been kept waiting on the premise that the party has chalked out a schedule and his time would come. While aspiring leaders are in the queue, Mr. Chiranjeevi’s managers are contacting his friends in the film industry, including small-time actors to add some more glamour quotient.

Sources revealed that despite three rounds of talks, Mr. Chiranjeevi and his confidantes failed to convince a leading personality from a ‘star production house’ and another producer to join the party.

‘Change not possible’

They are stated to have clearly told him that there was a difference between N. T. Rama Rao hitting the road in 1983 and Mr. Chiranjeevi’s political foray and that a change was not possible overnight with just one person.

Asked for the industry’s response to the actor’s party, Mr. Tammareddi Bharadwaj, a producer of over 40 films, who is known for championing the industry’s cause, did not mince words while asking, “What has he done for the industry and why should the industry people bother about him?”

The differences between Mr. Chiranjeevi and Congress leader, film director and his one-time mentor Dasari Narayana Rao are all too well known; more so with Mr. Rao producing a film ‘Maistry’ lampooning the actor-turned-politician who played the lead role in the hit film ‘Mutha Maistry’.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page