HYDERABAD: While stars from Tollywood came forward and raised a whopping Rs 11 crores, director and producer Thamma Reddy Bharadwaj on Wednesday expressed his concern over how the industry is not united anymore.
“Singer S P Balasubramaniam conducted a show in Chittoor and raised Rs 1 crore in just two hours. On the other hand, after series of negotiations and convincing, we were able to bring stars in Tollywood to participate in a telethon that was hosted by a local television channel,” he pointed out.
Adding that this is not his first experience and that he has been closely watching how participative stars in the industry have been in the past, the director shared that he is disappointed.
“This is not the first experience. I have been part of conducting a lot of events where I had to coordinate with various members of the industry. They came together feeling that it is their own event. That was missing this time,” he vented out. The director who is known for films like, Anthapuram said that the industry is an uncertain one. “There are times when the best in the field experience the worst times. I have been trying to raise funds, an account that can come handy when we need to support such families. That can also be used when there are calamities like these,” he expressed with concern. “People like to watch these actors shed their stardom. They like to see what these actors are like normally. That was also one of the most enjoyable moments during the telethon. But that was it. There was no initiative from the industry. They were paid for a pre-designed event and that money went to the CM’s relief fund. Why didn’t they come out voluntarily?” he questioned.
The Nandi award winning director also expressed concern over how youngsters in the industry do not feel responsible that they are part of one of the biggest film industries. “They have a lot of avocations. Their focus is on partying. I feel that they are in the industry only for the money. What they fail to understand is that this is an art and it cannot be valued in terms of money,” he expressed with concern.
“I am deeply ashamed that this is the state of our industry,” he shared. He also said that this is the reason why Telugu industry is not able to churn out heroines from the state.
“Parents here are scared to let their children venture into films because of one or two people whose priorities are different,” he opined.