Film shooting at Tirumala begins amid protests
Gopala Krishna
From "The Hindu online"
TIRUPATI, Dec. 2.
Even as the leaders of the NTR-TDP and the Congress(I) have
launched a joint fast at the foot hills today protesting against the
shooting of the film `Annamayya' on the Tirumala hills on the
ground that it would violate the sanctity of the temple town, the
film unit, led by its Director Dr. Raghavendra Rao, launched the
shooting in the picturesque `Sabari Vanam' area on the ghat road,
hardly two kms from the hunger-strike camp.
The sequence shot today was the saint-poet, Annamacharya, dancing
in devotional ecstacy to the tunes of the popular song `Adivo
Alladivo Sri Hari Vasamu'.
Down the hill at Alipiri, the leaders of the two parties _ Mr. M. R.
C. Reddy, district secretary leading the TDP-LP contingent, and
Mr. Harihararayalu, district youth Congress president, heading his
group _ were vociferously denouncing the TTD for yielding to the
political pressure brought to bear on it by the film producer, Mr.
Doraswamy Raju, who also happens to be the ruling party's Nagari
MLA.
Meanwhile, Mr. Raju, in an informal chat with mediapersons,
strongly defended his action and said that the film on Annamayya
was being produced only to enrich the glory of Lord Venkateswara
in whose praise the saint-poet rendered 32,000-odd songs. He
appealed to the powers that be to desist from `politicising' a noble
cause.
He also maintained that the film shooting would not in any way
jeoparadise the movement of the pilgrims on the hills because the
permission for the shooting was given by the TTD only on the
condition that it would be restricted to certain areas like `Akasa
Ganga', and `Sila Thoranam', which are away from the
pilgrim-choked areas of the temple town.
Mr. Nagarjuna, who is playing the lead role in the film, called it
unwise to politicise the shooting of the film on the Tirumala hills as
it is a devotional movie and not a routine run-off-the- mill
commercial film to cry hoarse that it would affect the serenity and
sanctity of the shrine.
The film director, Dr. Raghavender Rao, echoeing the same
sentiments, maintained that Tirumala was chosen as the venue for
the shooting in view of its relevance because Annamayya's life
centred around the holy Tirumala and its shrine.
Among others who sat on hunger-strike at the foot of the hills were
Mr. Sudheer Reddy and Mr. Karanam Gopal.
The two political parties are preparing for a `rasta roko' at the
foothills tomorrow to take their agitation one notch up in their bid
to bring pressure on the government to withdraw the permission
given for the film shooting.
--
Gopal ( gop...@corp.sgi.com )