Movie row highlights sensitivities

The film unit that was on a tour to celebrate the success of the movie, released on Friday, was pelted with eg

gs by activists. Though Telugu films have time and again portrayed characters speaking different dialects, some roles have not gone down well because the audiences have taken offence.

“With increasing awareness of the local language, people are no more ready to bear the linguistic humiliation imposed by the film fraternity,” said M. Jayadev, Telugu professor from Andhra University. “Movie makers are concentrating more on the commercial aspects, ignoring the sentiments of people,” he added.

Before bifurcation, villainous characters unfailingly spoke either the Rayalaseema or the Telangana dialect, upsetting the people of these regions. Several star-studded films and big-ticket ventures landed in hot water in the past due to the alleged denigration of a region, caste or religion.

Pawan Kalyan’s starrer political satire Camer-aman Ganga tho Rambabu and Manchu Vishnu’s Denikaina Ready were among the recent ones in this category.

ABVP activists alleged that the Kerintha unit had shown the lingo of Srikakulam in poor light.

They even hurled tomatoes and eggs at the unit. Dil Raju, producer of the movie, eventually apologised and promised not to repeat it. Speaking to this newspaper, Dusi Dharmarao, renowned Telugu poet and writer, said, “A dialectical slang is a unique feature of every district in Andhra Pradesh or Telangana. Though the choice of an accent for a character completely lies with the writer of a movie, constantly using a particular dialect for commercial purposes or linking it with the economically oppressed is always condemnable.”