HYDERABAD: Almost half of the cinema halls in the 10 districts of Telangana were forced to stop screening of films today in protest against the denial of clearance to N Shankar’s film, Jai Bolo Telangana, a film based on the decades-old Telangana agitation.
Telangana supporters are up in arms against the state Censor Board’s decision to not give clearance to Shankar’s film and they announced that they would disrupt the screening of films produced and directed by Seemandhra people.
Posters of films in which Seemandhra actors worked were burnt at a couple of places while Telangana activists staged protests in front of cinema halls demanding the clearance to Jai Bolo Telangana. Unconfirmed reports said that in Mahabubnagar district, protestors burnt the reels of two movies, ‘Wanted’ and ‘Golconda High School’ in which Gopichand and Sumanth play the lead roles.
The shut-down call given by the Kakatiya University Student Joint Action Committee (KUJAC) evoked good response in Warangal district with a majority of the cinemas not screening movies. Students burnt posters of movies acted by Seemandhra actors at several cinemas and burnt the effigy of Censor Board near the Ram Lakshman theatre. In Suryapet of Nalgonda district, student activists laid siege to the house of E Ramu, a member of Censor Board. Ramu, however, was not present in the house when the protest was held. In Nalgonda town, protests were held in front of a couple of cinemas. Telangana activists burnt the posters of newly released film, Wanted, at Motkur in the district.
Meanwhile, the Telangana Film Chamber has reportedly decided to stop the screening of films of actors of other regions, if Jai Bolo Telangana does not get a clearance tomorrow. Shankar planned to release the film on January 28 but the Censor Board is still sitting on the clearance to the film citing some objectionable scenes and dialogues in the film. Telangana JACs have been demanding that the board give a clearance without going for any cuts. A decision is likely to be taken regarding giving clearance tomorrow.