War of words between actors turns political
Pawan Kalyan alleges hand of Andhra chief minister is behind media onslaught against him
The storm created by aspiring actress Sri Reddy’s allegations of a ‘casting couch’ culture in the Telugu film industry has taken a political twist pitting the leading film actor-turned-politician, Pawan Kalyan, against major Telugu media houses and the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP).
What started with Sri Reddy’s semi-nude protest in Hyderabad, against the alleged sexual exploitation by some members of the film industry, has now taken a different turn.
The new phase of the controversy started with Kalyan’s advice to Sri Reddy that if she had a problem she should report to police and not TV studios.
A mercurial Sri Reddy lashed back at the actor in an abusive and profane language targeting Kalyan’s mother. The clips of her abuse were carried loud and clear by many Telugu TV channels such as ABN Andhra Jyothy, TV9 and TV5.
Dramatic footage
They also showed the dramatic footage of Sri Reddy hitting herself with a shoe for once calling Kalyan “brother”.
After keeping quiet for a few days, Kalyan hit back in his own style. Apart from condemning the starlet for abusing his mother, he also lashed out at the three TV channels and some newspapers as well as TDP leaders. He suspected the hand of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, his son Nara Lokesh and others were behind the splashes in Telugu media against him.
Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party is taking on the TDP in Andhra Pradesh in the run up to 2019 elections, but a caste colour was also added to the controversy.
All the three TV channels named by Kalyan are owned by the powerful media moghuls from the Kamma and the Kshatriya castes; and they are all close to Naidu. The Kapu caste, to which Kalyan belongs, has a running feud with these castes in coastal Andhra.