The opinion
of Mr. Jeevi was given under research heading. The lopsided
opinion of a person or a legion of make believers who think that
we are in for a kill by dubbing cinema is a half truth.
We are living through this phase for so many years and this trend
got encrusted with the protectionism policy of Telugu film industry
actively abetted by the government of AP This policy had become
a means of enriching the rich media,studio barons. Opposition to
dubbing movies or curbs on them would bracket us in the category
of Karnataka, Gujarat who ruined their industries willy nilly by
'trying to develop them in their states.'
The films like Prema Pavuralu, Gentleman, Roja, Nayakudu to name
a few; can we miss those films? But for dubbing we could have not
seen them at all; with an exception of Maine Pyar Kiya. Because
the Hindi cinemas run in our corridors,Tamil movies do not. The
films of Tamil and Malayalam have the language barriers, that is
why their direct movies do not run in our state, though we are geographically,
linguistically, culturally, aesthetically closer. (Because we four
states speak the Dravidian variants of languages).
If we take the Block Busters and other big hits in Telugu in the
last ten years we have the remakes from Tamil cornering the larger
number than our original direct films like our great Anthahpuram.
Then the germane question is that why we can not have our own stories?
Perhaps written within the geographical boundary of AP!! Is that
what it is meant to be? Well, we are not culturally rooted in our
ethos, perhaps. Therefore we take shortcuts and adapt their stories
because the stories that holds good for Tamils/Malayalis are perhaps
equally relevant to us and more so it appeals to our masses and
hence the market and craze for their stories.
And the 'jing thing' is that some excellent movies in Hindi and
English are dubbed into Telugu, which shall be a matter of pride
to us than an insult or an attack on our films. Can a Oriya or a
Gujarati or a Punjabi or even a Bengali (who are known as linguistically
resilient not so long ago) think about such a scenario? No, they
do not have market and the economics will not work for the producer/dubber.
We are such a big market that a movie of the Millennium like Titanic
was dubbed to Telugu. Its an honor to us.
What can we create if we cripple our creative artistes who took
their shapes from the soup of Telugu life, language, in the name
of AP this and AP that,little realizing that Telugus are a linguistic
group that overrun the present boundaries of AP map. When we say
AP, is it that we refer to the political map of AP or the people
of Telugu speakers? Is our world-view narrow that can not see the
difference between a conqueror and a cohabitator(saha jeevi).
Tamil/Malayalam industry gives us variety and they are not conquerors
and will not be.
Gujaratis in Bombay are much more active than they are Gujarat.
The Times of India newspaper from Bombay gives more of Gijarati
drama shows than Marathi or Hindi. And true, Gujarati drama flourishes
in Bombay than in their own land. Telugu film industry was not created
by AP government in the forties and fifties. It grew on its own
and the people gave plumes to it. We were the state having highest
number of theaters in India because we grew so big from that time.
It is the creative-force of our artistes and the market developed
thereon put our Industry ahead of others even ahead of Hindi in
India. Now where do we stand? What are the reasons? We do not have
any impartial, impassionate study on this industry. People at the
helm formed cartels and one group vied for government intervention
and got most of it. The media has its own pet ideas and patrons.
The scribes as we see are drawn from the same stock that has a limited
world view and cannot distinguish between a saha jeevi and threat.
They dutifully report that Bombay industry shoots their films in
Hyderabad! Our Telugu industry can not shoot outside AP more so
in Madras!
The time when Jandhyala and his ilk shooting films in Vizag are
over. Over to Hyderabad. Capital of Telugus for everything. All
over the world the film industry was developed in sea shore cities.
In the US it is Los Angeles not Washington. If a Telugu were to
be the President of the US, he would order its relocation to Washington!
His crony media baron would create a right atmosphere in the public
for its relocation. Vested Interests. The golden goose is being
cut for golden eggs. We have parables,but it is money that matters.
Why film industry of Hindi is in Bombay not in Lucknow or Patna?
Creative arts shall be allowed live in its' natural environs. A
cuckoo can sing better in the wild than in a cage. Industry is caged.
Instead of developing the industry in Vizag, they are developing
it in Hyderabad, an arid zone for TELUGU people and their culture.
The government wants to pluck the banyan tree and replant in a culturally
arid place like Hyderabad, because the ministers want themselves
to be busy with entreaties from cinewallahs and relish cine paraphernalia
scouting for them. It is for this reason we have this decline in
originality of ideas for stories and any literary activities. But
nay, the sub regional groups are creating stories featuring the
life and times of telangana, rayalaseema and their people. The storylines
are indeed being scripted our boys and acclaimed by all of us. Unfortunately
the story lines are trifled to read like another stereotype.
We all remember people like Kalabandhu Subbarami Reddy felicitating
Anil Kapoor on completion of his 20 years of entry into films in
New Delhi and not showing similar respect to our great Chiranjeevi;
where is the weakness our people? He would not even show Telugu
movies in his theaters. He is the one promised a largest studio
in Asia at Vizag. That is, perhaps shelved.
I conclude without giving a clear reply to Jeevi that we are groping
for an elephant by touching at different places than seeing the
whole gargantuan animal. The MESSAGE IS CLEAR : WE DO NOT HAVE A
STUDY ON TRENDS ON THE DECLINE/ASCENDANCY OF TELUGU MOVIES BASED
ON TRUTH AND DATA, BUT WE HAVE THE CARTELS THAT ARE OPERATING TO
ENRICH THEMSELVES AND MANY HAVE ENRICHED THEMSELVES A LOT BY THE
PUBLIC FUNDS. And that is the bad news. |
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