Telangana taunt in film a 'careless' mistake, believes Tollywood

HYDERABAD: The Tollywood film fraternity is wondering how exactly could the combination of star actor Pawan Kalyan and director Puri Jagannadh goof up on the screenplay and dialogues of their latest movie, 'Cameraman Ganga Tho Rambabu', which has Telangana groups up in arms. Led by Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), protests have erupted across the region over what is being described as a deliberate attempt to portray the people of the region, including the party's leaders, in a bad light.
What is surprising is that this should come at a time when directors and actors, especially those not hailing from the Telangana region, have been taking every precaution to ensure that none of their work ruffles the feathers of the separate statehood supporters. "More than a deliberate attempt, it is carelessness on the part of the filmmakers. Extra precaution could have been taken to not give rise to any scope for protest," said a member of the film fraternity.
Even Telangana activists agree that, of late, filmmakers have been cautious about not making fun of the Telangana lingo in their films. For a long time, it had been the standard practice for the villains to invariably speak in the Telangana dialect. That, however, has changed a great deal. The hero, of course, invariably continues to speak the way they do in the Andhra region. Pawan Kalyan's last film 'Gabbar Singh', which released a few months back, had been a big hit thanks also to a scene in a police station where the hero handles the thugs - all of whom speak in the Telangana dialect - in a comical manner. The masses loved the 'Anthyakshari' song but, at the end of the day, it was fun at the expense of thugs. Incidentally, the director of 'Gabbar Singh', Harish Shankar, hails from Karimnagar, which lies in the Telangana region.
In 'Khushi', another hit Pawan Kalyan-starrer, the hero mocks those who speak in the Telangana dialect by imitating the villains. "There will be no problem if a bound script is ready before the shooting starts. The producer, director and the hero should have read it before the film goes on the floors. But that does not happen, especially when star directors make films with star actors. Moreover, the censor board should also be careful while clearing movies. It is their responsibility to see that a movie does not hurt popular sentiments," said film director Dr L Srinath, vice-president of the Telugu Film Directors' Association. Puri Jagannadh, director of 'Camerman Gangatho Rambabu' has been having a successful run at the box-office with big hits like the Mahesh Babu-starrer 'Pokiri' and 'Businessman',. also with the same actor.
However, Puri Jagannadh's last film 'Devudu Chesina Manushulu' with Ravi Teja released recently left the audience wondering about how the director would have made such a movie that could not stir them at all.
Puri Jagannadh has reportedly claimed that a film did not even need to have a story. That settled it.
Maybe he feels all that a film with a big hero needs is dialogues that pack a punch. But as 'Cameraman Gangatho Rambabu' has demonstrated, sometimes the punches land directly on the director for being in bad taste.