Will Allu Arjun row force Telugu movie industry to shift base to Andhra?

Regional slurs hurled at Telugu actor Allu Arjun’s family over his recent spar with Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy over the ‘Pushpa-2’ stampede incident, have triggered speculations of a possible exodus of the Telugu film industry from the state.

In a latest example, Rekulapally Bhoopathi Reddy, a Congress MLA from Nizamabad Rural, called Allu Aravind, the film producer father of Allu Arjun, a ‘pagati veshagadu’ from Andhra Pradesh. The remark was made in a derogatory sense as pagati veshagadu literally translates to a wandering fork artist who performs during the day while begging for money or grain. The MLA warned Aravind that having come from Andhra as a pagati veshagadu, he should know his limits in Telangana.

Also read: Allu Arjun attended 'Pushpa 2' screening despite police ban: CM Revanth Reddy

Similar comments were made a few days ago by a suspended police officer at a press conference, giving the Allu Arjun-Revanth Reddy spar a regional colour.

Andhra-Telangana divide

The 'regional talk' has come amid a debate that the attitudes of Revanth Reddy and the Allu family will force the relocation of the Telugu film industry to Andhra Pradesh.

The general premise is that the Telugu movie industry, dominated by three Andhra upper castes (Kamma, Kapu and Rajus), will quit Telangana, if rubbed the wrong way.

In Telangana, Andhra denotes Krishna and Guntur districts and the word ‘Andhrollu’ (Andhra people) represent Kammas who dominate these districts with their money and muscle power.

Anti-Kamma propaganda

Over the past 70 years, Kammas have extended their power over Hyderabad too. This generated substantial backlash against them including during the Telangana statehood movement.

Watch | Allu Arjun in trouble again for 'insulting' police in 'Pushpa 2'

While the 1969 Telangana movement reverberated with ‘Idli-Sambhar go back’ slogans, the 2000s movement used ‘curry points’ opened by Kammas to ridicule them.

The reference to Andhra by the Congress MLA on Tuesday is a remnant of this old mindset. For the first time, the term was hurled against a non-Kamma family.

Will movie industry shift to Andhra?

What would the movie industry in general, and Allu Aravind in particular, do now? Will they think of relocating to Andhra Pradesh where the political atmosphere is conducive to these castes? Or will they keep quiet till somebody helps strike a rapprochement between Revanth Reddy and the Allu family?

The Telugu media has been speculating a possible relocation, and for Allu Aravind to follow in the footsteps of like NT Ramarao (NTR) who in 1982 had launched the Telugu Desam Party after a purported tiff with then chief minister Bhavanam Venkatram.

Also read: Allu Arjun grilled for over 3 hours in stampede death case; here's what cops asked him

According to one version, in February 1982, Bhavanam declined NTR’s request for a Rajya Sabha nomination like what the Congress did for Sivaji Ganesan in Tamil Nadu. Infuriated at the refusal, NTR decided to launch a regional party to teach the Congress a lesson.

Andhra woos film industry

Since Allu Aravind, as an Andhra resident, cannot form a regional party in Telangana to defeat Congress à la NTR in 1983, media reports say, he may relocate to Andhra Pradesh.

And irrespective of Allu Aravind’s decision to shift base to Andhra, the Andhra Pradesh government is ready to roll out the red carpet to the movie industry. The state’s TDP president, Palla Srinivasarao, said the party would welcome any such move by the industry.

Some days back, Andhra’s deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan had waxed eloquent on how the state was endowed with ideal locations for movie shootings.

Is Andhra an attractive destination?

Although many Kamma industrialists harbour a wish to quit Telangana, they don’t find Andhra attractive. Between 1956 and 2014, none of the chief ministers from the region had thought of developing a Hyderabad-equivalent in Andhra.

Also read: Boy injured in 'Pushpa-2' theatre stampede off ventilator, condition improving: Father

Consequently, Andhra remains a poor choice for a relocation. So, when the Telangana movement targeted Kammas, they were forced to put up with insults heaped by Telangana politicians.

However, producer D Ramanaidu made an attempt to relocate to Andhra Pradesh in 2003 when N Chandrababu Naidu was the chief minister. Naidu allocated him 35 acres in Visakhapatnam to build a studio. This, however, did not trigger a wave of migration though the Telangana movement had generated hatred towards the Kamma elite.

Kamma-Kapu power in Andhra

After the bifurcation, between 2014 and 2019, as chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, Naidu had a dream to make Visakhapatnam a hub of movie production. But he lost power in 2019. While his successor YS Jagan Mohan Reddy didn’t have cordial relations with tinsel town, his attempts to win over the industry failed.

Also read: Tollywood, a saga of bloated egos, caste and clan loyalties

Now, two influential castes of the movie industry, Kamma (NTR, ANR, Ramanaidu and Manchu families) and Kapu (Allu Arvind and Chiranjeevi families), hold sway in Andhra Pradesh will the full support of the NDA government. On the other hand, Telangana looks like another nation for Andhra political parties where they are almost banned.

K Chandrasekhar Rao, the first chief minister of Telangana, branded the TDP, YSR Congress and Janasena as unwanted Andhra parties.

‘Stampede issue not enough reason to relocate’

Lack of political power coupled with hatred should have enabled these parties to woo the industry to Andhra Pradesh with a vengeance. But ruthless caste politics, lack of a capital city and an uncertain political atmosphere have ruined the image of Andhra Pradesh to such extent that any thought of relocation is now inconceivable.

Against this backdrop, industry’s relocation to Andhra Pradesh is not possible, said a producer.

“The present row over the stampede death in Hyderabad on the day of ‘Pushpa-2’ release is a minor event to warrant shifting base to Andhra. The Allu family and the government will resolve it soon. This cannot be projected as a government-versus-movie industry fight,” he said on the condition of anonymity.

From Madras to Hyderabad

In his view, the shifting of the industry from Madras (now Chennai) to Hyderabad in the 1960s was necessitated by the need for ‘Teluguness’ in the movies. Hyderabad was eminently suitable to accommodate the growing industry.

Also read: Allu Arjun was normal in prison, had rice and veg curry for dinner: Officials

“The present Andhra Pradesh is yet to evolve to attract the movie industry. Relocation needs a compelling socio-economic and cultural atmosphere,” he said.

SV Srinivas, a noted film studies expert, narrated how conditions led the Telugu movie industry to relocate to Hyderabad in the 1970s.

Need of ‘Telugunees’, shift to from Madras

The 1940s and 1950s saw the surplus agrarian capital from coastal Andhra migrate into movie making, changing the whole complexion of the industry, he said. “The choice of stories, locations, sets, props, costumes and of course the accents of actors – in short everything – had to be done to ensure that Telugu-language films were saturated with Teluguness,” he said.

Also read: Allu Arjun vs 'Mega' family shadow war hots up

This formed the backdrop to migrate to Hyderabad from Chennai, and Andhra Pradesh with its 3-crore population welcomed the decision. Leading star Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR) became the pioneer in relocating to Hyderabad.

“The Allu Arjun issue does not warrant shifting of industry lock stock and barrel to Andhra Pradesh. Dil Raj, producer and chairman, TGFDC, is working to resolve the issue. Giving Andhra colour to the ‘Pushpa-2’ episode is in bad taste. Telangana people won’t back such aberrations. That the Telugu people are one is proven despite political and geographical divides,” a veteran movie journalist who doesn’t want to be quoted told The Federal.