Will Tollywood Actors voice support for Special category status?

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Naveena
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Tollywood Actors voice support for Special category status, Andhra Pradesh, Jallikattu, Chandrababu, Chiranjeevi, Mahesh Babu, Allu Arjun, Junior NTR, Balakrishna, Sai Dharam Tej, Varun Tej
Tollywood Actors voice support for Special category status, Andhra Pradesh, Jallikattu, Chandrababu, Chiranjeevi, Mahesh Babu, Allu Arjun, Junior NTR, Balakrishna, Sai Dharam Tej, Varun Tej

Telugu film industry(TFI) is now in a tight spot especially looking at the way people and film fraternity of Tamil Nadu proved that anything can be achieved by unity and determination. TFI or Tollywood as it is called, has lent unconditional support to Jallikattu protests, however now the question is, will they do the same for the protest for Special category status(SCS).

The movie stars from Tamil industry have always voiced their opinions be it Kaveri river water issue or Jallikattu. But TFI has time and again has been on back foot when it comes to politics. Constantly showering appreciation on the movies of peers they have displayed tremendous unity, but will they unite when it comes to the state. In the context of separate Telangana movement, TFI failed to voice their opinion because of which they faced the wrath of agitators at shooting locations. The SCS is not a controversial issue also like the bifurcation of state. It is now known to everyone that the inspired by the mass protest over Jallikattu in Chennai, several youngsters in Andhra Pradesh through social media put forward the idea of a silent protest at RK Beach in Visakhapatnam. The youth have been looking up to the Tollywood actors to become voice of their apolitical protest.

TFI’s big stars have strong political affiliations and businesses in both telugu regions. Being diplomatic is an obvious choice as they are aware that it is not easy for a movie star to achieve big in politics. While NTR was successful, the master mind Chandrababu to replaced him with his gimmicks. Everybody knows the fate of political career of Chiranjeevi who had to face the music especially from AP regarding bifurcation. BalaKrishna is a TDP MLA and Junior NTR has openly campaigned for TDP.

Expecting the Nandamuri family to support the protest is going against Chandrababu, which is implausible. This remonstration supposedly is to unite the youth protesters by keeping it apolitical and there are strict objections to display political flags or cause inconvenience to the public. Since Janasena, YSRCP and communist parties have already lent their support, the chances are dim for junior NTR to come in support.

When it comes to the Konidela family, already the newbies – Sai Dharam Tej and Varun Tej have shown their support. Pawan Kalyan is the driving factor. The probability of Chiranjeevi, Ram Charan and Allu Arjun to join the cause are low. Chiranjeevi who is affiliated to congress should extend his support, but it is uncertain if he would prefer sharing space with Pawan Kalyan. It was only Chiranjeevi who openly voiced against bifurcation by standing up in Rajya Sabha while the bill was being passed. So expecting Chiranjeevi to come and stand up is not too much to ask. However, the Chandrababu government has recently released Rs 4.9 crore to Turbo Megha Airways, promoted by Ram Charan Tej. Also, Chiranjeevi has been displaying negligent attitude towards the special category status issue and is concentrating on movies despite being the member of Rajya Sabha.

The love for Chennai is evident in almost all the actors because it was only in 90s that the TFI shifted its base to Hyderabad. So all the actors who are supporting Jallikattu are the kids who grew up in Chennai. While we do not question their love for the telugu regions, for Nizam which is the greatest supporter for TFI collections, hardly anyone voiced their opinion during the Telangana movement. Mahesh Babu who supported Jallikattu did not speak about banning rooster fights. He admired the way the students of Tamil Nadu have been standing up for the cause, relentlessly fighting for their roots and culture. The actor did not respond to the numerous tweets from youth who want to do a silent protest demanding special status for Andhra Pradesh. The actor may tweet after the protest begins because of his rapport with Pawan Kalyan. He did mention about Jana Sena and wanted to support it earlier. Even after the protest starts Mahesh Babu might not attend like superstar Rajinikanth did for Jallikattu.

Will Rama Naidu studio close in Vizag to show support to SCS like Tamil Nadu? Now that the Jallikattu protests became violent, it is unlikely for the TFI to come out in open and support SCS. Chandrababu Naidu is known to take severe measures to curb any kind of protest. KCR and students in Telangana can give numerous examples up to what extent the AP CM can go when it comes to curbing a party or agitation. He indirectly warned people to stop protesting by saying that he is working hard day in and out and this chaos is being created by opposition. Time and again he claimed that special category and special package are same. However, elites like JP of loksatta don’t believe so. Out of nowhere Nagarjuna and Venkatesh’s support will be such a huge boost, but don’t forget they have businesses which will stop them. Amala Akkineni has been working for animal welfare, so no statement from her is evident that their stand is clear regarding Jallikattu.

Chandrababu roped in the film fraternity for construction of capital. So expecting the technicians to go against him who is giving them employment is next to impossible. Every actor/actress have vested personal interests which come before the public interest. As such, SCS is not a cultural issue but it is political issue and not controversial like bifurcation. Politicians are known for not fulfilling promises. So coming in support for a political issue may hamper them in long run. Chandrababu will bring in Murali Mohan TDP MP, who has been a key contributor in TFI will try his best to avoid his peers from supporting the SCS protest. However, actors may support it only after the protests are conducted successfully.

Pawan Kalyan, Manchu Manoj have made changes to their movie related events to support the cause. Social media fan associations of these stars are in cohesion for the silent protest. While the social media tweets are altering the dialogs of the movie stars to complement the situation but mere circulation of pictures doesn’t indicate the support. Popular dialogs from the big stars Chiranjeevi, Mahesh Babu, Allu Arjun, Junior NTR, Balakrishna are being disseminated to create awareness among youngsters to participate in protests. This could be the only big contribution of TFI to this protest so far. Every top film star from Tamil Nadu, including Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Suriya, Dhanush and Ajith participated in the agitation. Even world-renowned music director A R Rahman went on a one-day fast for Jallikattu. Although many Telugu film stars announced their support for this silent protest for SCS, people of AP are expecting big league film stars to join hands like whole Tamil industry.

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