Interesting battle on the cards for film chamber elections

HYDERABAD: An interesting battle is on the cards as the A P Film Chamber of Commerce (APFCC) is scheduled to elect its new body here on July 29. The filing of nominations which began on July 9 ended on Saturday.
The 44-member executive committee comprises representatives from exhibitors, distributors, producers and studio owners. The executive committee in turn will elect the office-bearers.The all-important post of president of the film chamber this year has been reserved for the producers' council. Every year, the post of president is reserved in turns for the four different divisions of the film industry. Last year, the post went to studio owners' association which chose D Suresh Babu as its nominee. This time, since the post has been reserved for the producers' council, it is learnt that it will not be a smooth affair.
According to sources, the incumbent president D Suresh Babu, could also be a candidate for the post as he is also a producer and therefore entitled to contest. A keen contest can be expected as the name of Tammareddy Bharadwaja is also being floated by a section of producers. That means, it can be a straight contest between Suresh Babu and Tammareddy Bharadwaja, unless some other group of producers decide to throw their hat in the ring. The exhibitors and distributors seem to be in favour of Suresh Babu as he understands every aspect of the trade.
Apart from office-bearers, the exhibitors, distributors, producers and studio owners will also have to elect one of them as chairman of their respective bodies.
The Telugu film industry has been going through a rough patch with problems pertaining to VAT, service tax, the issue of dubbing films, issues with the regional censor board and wages of cine workers haunting it. Those who get elected will have to take up these issues at the highest level to restore normalcy to the industry.