As expected, young Tollywood hero N T Rama Rao on Thursday skipped the meeting convened by Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy with a delegation of the Telugu film industry to find a solution to the issues concerning the industry, including the cinema ticket prices issue.
Though Nagarjuna and Trivikram Srinivas, too, could not accompany the delegation led by megastar Chiranjeevi, they have a different reason: they are suffering from mild Covid-19. Instead of Trivikram, another director Koratala Siva joined the delegation.
But, there is no specific reason cited for the absence of NTR in the delegation, though his name was included in the list of the people meeting the chief minister.
However, there have been doubts being raised in the political and media circles about the possibility of NTR being part of the delegation.
Obviously, NTR was under pressure from his community people and also the Telugu Desam Party followers within the film industry not to go to the meeting with Jagan, as it would send wrong signals not only to the party, but also his own community, against which Jagan has been acting with vengeance.
It was already reported in these columns that the TDP supporters in the industry are strongly opposing to NTR’s meeting with Jagan, as it would be the biggest blunder of his lifetime.
There is already a criticism against him for not openly condemning the abusive language allegedly used by the YSRC members against TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu’s wife Nara Bhuvaneshwari.
Now, if he accompanies the Tollywood delegation to meet the Andhra chief minister, it would cause huge damage not only to the TDP but also to the family members of his grandfather, legendary actor N T Rama Rao.
“Even if NTR wants to enter politics at a later stage, the present meeting would cause immense damage to his reputation,” sources said.
Mahesh Babu is also from the same community and moreover, he is the brother-in-law of TDP MP Galla Jayadev. But, he has his own individuality and has never been seen as a representative of the community as he has no political leanings.
On the other hand, NTR had earlier been active in the TDP and campaigned for the party in the 2009 elections. He is still being owned up by the TDP and the community it represents. So, if he meets Jagan, it would damage his own image and that of the party.
Perhaps that was the reason by community elders might have brought pressure on NTR and made him drop from the delegation to meet the chief minister, say sources.
