One of the major announcements by T Chief Minister K Chandra Sekhara Rao after he came to power was the allocation of 2000 acres of land for the development of a film city in the region.
While it has become obvious that there is intense competition between the two Telugu-speaking states to outdo each other in terms of development, the Andhra Pradesh government is surprisingly silent about the future of film industry.
For now, the film industry has decided to continue functioning from Hyderabad. But Chandra Babu Naidu is making absolutely no efforts to expand the operations of the film industry in Andhra Pradesh.
Many in the film industry feel that the onus is on Babu to announce special packages for the development of various locations all over Andhra Pradesh including Vizag to make them conducive for film shootings.
Similarly, they feel that he should also announce plans to develop a film city there. However, Chandra Babu is taking no steps in this direction.
If Babu wakes up and announces tax holidays and packages, industry insiders feel it would help towards the development of setting up a branch of Tollywood in AP.
Already, the film industry is under pressure due to constant comments made by Telangana leaders and film-makers who complain that the Telugu film industry is dominated by Andhra people.
They say that Telangana people are not encouraged to prove themselves in the industry. If Babu makes the right moves, the film industry will develop within no time in AP.
Instead, he is whiling away people’s time by constantly reminding them that he is ‘Hi-tech’ Babu.
If the industry develops there, it would also mean employment opportunities for local youth.
Barring minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao, all of Babu’s cabinet and Babu are silent about the film city proposal. As always, we will keep you posted about developments on this front.
