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Telangana protesters attack theatres

HYDERABAD — The Telangana activists today hit the streets and attacked theatres across the region screening the latest Telugu movie “Cameraman Gangatho Rambabu” (With Cameraman Ganga, this is Rambabu”), alleging that it contained several objectionable scenes belittling the movement for separate Telangana state.

The angry demonstrators pulled down the cut-outs of the movie, starring popular hero Pavan Kalyan, and burnt the flexi boards to protest against what they called “anti-Telangana remarks” in the film. The screening of the movie, released across the state yesterday, had to be cancelled following violent protests.

The action thriller by the ace director Puri Jagannath portrays the heroics of a reporter of a news channel who takes on the mighty politicians.

Alleging that some of the scenes in the movie amounted to hurting the sentiments of Telangana people, the members of the Telangana Students Joint Action Committee (TSJAC) raided Aradhana Theatre adjacent to the Osmania University campus here, the nerve-centre of the statehood movement, and took away the film reels. The activists later made a bonfire out of them. The protestors stormed some of the theatres in the region and threatened to stall the shows if the producer and director do not remove the objectionable remarks. As the reports of demonstrators turning violent and attacking the theatres poured in, the film distributer Dil Raju and Director Jagannath appeared before the media and offered to delete the objectionable dialogues and scenes.

“Our intention was not to hurt any individual or organisation. If the Telangana activists feel that some scenes are objectionable, then we are willing to delete them,” the Director said. He said that he had contacted the top leaders of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), which is spearheading the statehood movement, and the Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) and offered to arrange a special screening for them. — news@khaleejtimes.com