SEPT 6- It is an unprecedented fiat ahead of the release of a film. The Andhra Pradesh High Court has on Thursday directed the Andhra Pradesh police to provide security cover for the uninterrupted release and screening of director Apporva Lakhia’s Zanjeer’ and its Telugu version ‘Toofan’.
Popular Telugu actor Ram Charan Teja, the son of the Union Tourism Minister K. Chiranjeevi, and Priyanka Chopra are the lead cast of the film – a remake of the Amitabh Bachchan starrer and Prakash Mehra’s 1973 Hindi action classic.
The court asked the state’s Director General of Police V. Dinesh Reddy to provide adequate security at the cinemas where the films are to be released across the state on Friday.
Reliance Big Entertainment Private Limited had moved the court seeking directions to take steps for smooth screening in view of unspecified threats from some quarters in the backdrop of the political turmoil following the announcement to carve a separate Telangana.
The threats are mainly against films starring anyone from the ‘Mega’ family in an oblique reference to Ram Charan, his uncle Pawan Kalyan, the younger brother of
Chiranjeevi, as well as productions of another uncle Allu Arvind, Chiranjeevi’s brother – in – law and his son Allu Arjun.
Reliance Entertainment told the court that it has invested several crores of rupees to produce, market and distribute the movies.
It had already signed contracts with several theatres for screening the films and was apprehensive of hurdles in the screening of the films.
What is more, on Wednesday, it informed the court, that its representation to the police did not evoke any response.
It said that certain lumpen elements from different parts of Andhra Pradesh have sought to use the political agitation to wrongfully derail and stall the release of their films.
Some groups in the 13 districts comprising the coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions have threatened to disrupt the screening to protest against what they call Chiranjeevi’s gross failure to oppose vehemently the division of the state.
However, it does not ensure smooth screening in the Telangana region where some groups accuse Chiranjeevi of trying to scuttle the formation of the 29 th state. This has happened in the past too.
Tollywood, as the Telugu film industry is known, has faced several protests by the separatists who have set afire sets while shooting of films was underway and even obstructed the screening of some films in which they argued that Telugu spoken with the Telangana idiom or characters portrayed as belonging to the region were ridiculed.
Tollywood is dominated by actors, technicians and producers who are from the coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions and several of them as well as their films have faced the ire of pro – Telangana groups.
INDIA TODAY
