VIJAYAWADA: Movie Artists Association (MAA) president and actor Manchu Vishnu called on Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy at the latter’s camp office in Tadepalli on Tuesday. The meeting gained prominence as Vishnu met Jagan almost a week after the Tollywood actors K Chiranjeevi and others discussed the problems being faced by the industry with the Chief Minister.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Vishnu said they discussed film industry issues. “I am setting up a movie studio in Tirupati. I will come again for the government’s assistance. Now, 30 years after the founding of Sri Vidyaniketan, it has become Mohan Babu University. We will introduce new film courses there and the details will be disclosed soon”, Vishnu said.
He said Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are two eyes for the Telugu film industry, and the government assured to provide necessary support for the film industry to set up base Visakhapatnam. A decision will be taken after discussing the matter with the representatives of the film chamber of commerce.
“Recently, several actors met the chief minister. Invitations were given to my father and senior actor Mohan Babu along with two other actors. But, surprisingly the invitation didn’t reach my father and I know the person behind it,” the MAA president said.
“Recently, Cinematography Minister Perni Venkataramaiah (Nani) came to my home. Actually, Perni was in Hyderabad to attend a wedding. My father invited him for breakfast. During his visit, discussions were held on movie ticket rates and other issues,” he explained. “I have tweeted thanking the AP government for its assistance to the Telugu Film Industry. However, the tweet was misunderstood,” Vishnu said. “It is not true that I was not invited to the earlier meeting with the CM because of the controversy in the ‘MAA’ election,” Vishnu said.
Ali calls on CM, says ticket issue will be solved soon
Film actor Ali, who called on Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in the latter’s camp office at Tadepalli on Tuesday, said that good news will come to the film industry within two weeks. Speaking to mediapersons, Ali said that he joined the YSRC unconditionally, adding that he has been in active politics since 1999. Stating that the government is of the view that the cinema ticket prices should be in the reach of the common man, he felt that the issues being faced by the Telugu film industry will be resolved soon.