Dope shame for Tollywood again

With actor Varun Sandesh’s name being dragged into the latest drug bust by city cops, Tollywood is once again making headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Google the words “drug bust” and the first few entries that show up are links related to Tollywood’s involvement in drug rackets. Names of T’wood personalities have surfaced in every drug-racket that was busted in the last one-and-a-half years, be it for drug peddling or drug abuse.
Tollywood is left red-faced yet again, with actor Varun Sandesh’s name being spilled by Dr Siddharth Rao, who along with Nigerian national James alias Fedrick, was apprehended on Friday for being in possession of cocaine. The names of director Uppalapati Ravi and actor Avinash also popped up. Though Varun pleads innocence and is willing to be put through any test to prove the same and Siddharth has retracted his initial statement, the actor’s fate now depends on the polygraph tests and investigations carried out by cops.
The dark underbelly
Insiders admit that cocaine is proving to be young Tollywood’s biggest poison. While they once uninhibitedly snorted lines and popped pills at nightclubs, especially those owned by their T’wood friends, now the actors exercise more caution in public. Instead, the ‘party’ has shifted to exclusive filmy dos, where they are away from scrutiny. With consumption of drugs now restricted to T’wood parties that only have celebs in attendance, nabbing offenders is not an easy task. DCP M. Stephen Raveendra, West Zone, Crime, informs, “Actors who are doing drugs, do it at their homes or private parties. Also, they directly procure the substances from the source and not via middlemen. Only the circles involved know. But we are watching a few celebs.”
Cracking the whip
Coke addicts may have smartened up, but the cops are working doubly hard to beat them at their own game. “We have divided offenders into groups — P3 socialites, anti-social elements and Tollywood celebrities. We have men keeping a vigil on each group. We have also met students of the Foreign Student Association and asked them to do their bit and pass on any information.”
T’WOOD FEELS TARGETED
With no one able to deny that there is a thriving drug scene in Tollywood’s dark underbelly any longer, the film industry has huddled together once again, as its image takes a beating for the umpteenth time. says producer-filmmaker, Tammareddy Bharadwaj, “Politicos and businessmen are offenders too. But only filmi names are dragged into controversy. I do not deny Tollywood celebs are involved, but it is not right to only focus on them. Out of the 20-odd names that a peddler reveals, only the actor’s name is sensationalized, making it seem like Tollywood stars are the only culprits. Why aren’t the other 19 names made public?”
Once too often
In Feb 2010, 20 kgs of ephedrine were seized from producer K V Rao in Jubilee Hills.
In June 2010, cops busted a drug racket linked to Tollywood after they nabbed two Ugandian nationals.
In August 2010, brothers of popular Telugu actor Ravi Teja, B Raghu Raju and B Bharath Raju were arrested along with a businessman for buying cocaine from Clement alias Victor, a Nigerian national.
In Feb 2011, producer Murali, who is filmmaker Jeevitha Rajasekhar’s brother, was arrested along with two others for allegedly buying cocaine from a Nigerian.
On April 1, 2011, police arrested a Sudanese national and seized 10 grams of cocaine from his possession in Filmnagar.