Condolences via social media, is emotionless
The young heroes seem to have forgotten the tradition of paying their last respects in person, to a departed soul
Tollywood’s ‘Pan-India’ stars were conspicuous by their absence at legendary director Vishwanath’ funeral. While celebs across the country took to social media to pay their last respects to K. Vishwanath, many young heroes of Tollywood chose to do so too instead of turning up in person. Barring Chiranjeevi and Pawan Kalyan, the so-called pan-India stars, including Jr NTR, Prabhas, Mahesh Babu, Ram Charan, Allu Arjun (shooting in Vizag) and Naga Chaitanya did not visit the legendary director’s residence and simply paid ‘virtual’ condolences.
Harikrishma Mamidi, Director, Department of Language and Culture, Government of Telangana, sees it as ‘a failure of generation.’ While acknowledging that it is not mandatory for the stars to personally pay their last respects to such a legendary figure, he feels that it would have been nice if these younger actors had done so. “When they say that the film industry is united, offering condolences in person would have been a nice gesture,” says Harikrishma, who feels that the elders have failed to pass on values to Gen Next.
“While Radikaa garu came from Chennai and yesteryear actresses like Tulsai garu came from Bengaluru, why couldn’t our stars come?” asks a film director. “Even when legendary actors like Jamuna garu and Kaikala garu passed away recently, our stars did not personally pay their respects. It’s a shame what these young heroes preach in films about grandfathergrandson relationships, but when it comes to real life, they don’t deliver,” he adds.