FILM INDUSTRY NOT UNITED, SAYS NARESH
ABSENCE OF FILM CHAMBER REPRESENTATIVE AT MEETING WITH AP CM DECRIED
THERE’S A LARGE GROUP OF DISGRUNTLED PEOPLE. EVEN THOUGH THE TEAM DISCUSSED THEATRE TICKET PRICES, MANY LARGER ISSUES OF DISTRIBUTORS, EXHIBITORS, SMALL PRODUCERS, ETC., AND ISSUES CAUSED BY THE PANDEMIC, NEEDED TO BE BROUGHT TO THE CM’S NOTICE — NARESH
The recent meeting between the Chiranjeevi-led elite team which included Mahesh Babu, Prabhas, SS Rajamouli and Koratala Siva, and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan, to the film industry’s problems, was largely welcomed, but many feel an official from the industry’s official representative body, the Film Chamber, should have been part of the delegation.
Former MAA President and senior member of the Telugu film fraternity Naresh feels the industry hasn’t been able to take a united stand, and says there’s a large group of disgruntled people.
As a senior member of the industry, Naresh observes that even though the team discussed theatre ticket prices, many larger issues of distributors, exhibitors, small producers, etc., and issues caused by the pandemic, needed to be brought to the CM’s notice. He also brought up the emergence of OTT platforms and said it had put theatre owners
and film exhibitors in a fix.
“Naresh, who is also former President of the Movie Artistes Association (MAA), described the Chiru-led team’s meeting with the Chief Minister as a ‘basic initiative’, and felt a conclusive result is still a long way away.
(After the recent meeting, Chiranjeevi had said all the problems of the Telugu film industry had been discussed and would be addressed soon.)
Naresh is of the opinion that there should have been an official conference of stakeholders in the industry (producers, distributors, exhibitors, members of the film chamber) and a resolution should have been passed after discussions, which should thereafter have been sent to the Chief Minister via the Cinematography Minister for a long-term solution.
“Senior industry members like Thammareddy Bharadwaj and R. Narayanamurthy too expressed the need for representatives of an official body like the Film Chamber at the meetings,” said Naresh, who is also a film studio owner.
Stressing that the film industry should earn the respect of the government and the people, and not just their sympathy, he said “Deliberations have to be a continuous process where the industry stands together and moves forward collectively.”