T-Effect on Tollywood

The ongoing T struggle has not just left its impression on an average Hyderabadi���������s life, but also on cinema. In a new trend, Telangana themes are finding favor in T���������wood films and heroes are spouting dialogues in the region���������s dialect.
Kallu unnodu mundu matrame chusthadu, dimag unnodu duniya mottam chusthadu...��������� goes a ���������punch��������� dialogue in ���������Dookudu���������.The Telangana slant in Mahesh Babu���������s dialogue delivery is hard to miss. also, this was the first time Mahesh was speaking in the Telangana accent on 70 mm.
Director N Shankar believes it is a fallout of the T-agitation in cinema. ���������A popular hero talking in Telangana dialect is a welcome change from the times when only the likes of Babu Mohan or Venu Madhav, who played comedians or fringe characters, spoke in the Telangana accent. The agitation has forced filmmakers to think about appeasing audiences from the Telangana region, and the hero speaking the tongue appeals to popular sentiment.���������
However, Gopi Mohan, story writer of ���������Dookudu��������� denies any such political motive. ���������It was a demand of the script, not a conscious decision. The story is set in Hyderabad and Mahesh Babu played the son of a mass leader. We used Khairatabad constituency leader, P Janardhan Reddy as a reference for developing the father���������s (Prakash Raj) character,��������� explains Gopi Mohan. Whatever the reasons, the ploy earned rich dividends ��������� ���������Dookudu��������� collected an unprecedented `16 crore in collections from the Nizam area.
With Telangana activists getting actors to mouth Jai Telangana slogans, the filmmakers realized that it makes sense for films to appeal to their sentiments, setting off a spate of films like ���������Poru Telangana���������, ���������Veera Telangana��������� and ���������Jai Bolo Telangana���������, based on the agitations. ���������Komaram Bheem��������� which was languishing in the cans for over a decade managed to secure a theatrical release in 2009. They have not exactly set the BO collections ringing but it hasn���������t deterred filmmakers from exploring the theme. Rafi starrer ���������Inkennallu��������� and Sivaji starrer ���������Kolimi��������� are upcoming films too.
It isn���������t just the heroes who are experimenting with Telangana nativity. Aksha, played a rural Telangana girl in ���������Kandireega���������, winning many accolades. In fact, the entire second half of the film is set in a rural Telangana household. The Nagarjuna starrer, ���������Rajanna��������� is taking it to the next level. The film, based on the life of a Telangana-based freedom fighter, is set in a Telangana village in the 1950s and the music too is inspired by native folk tunes.
Gopi Mohan adds, ���������We experimented with the Telangana slang successfully in films in the past as well. Nagarjuna played a mass Telangana character, Bottu Seenu, in ���������King���������. Trisha, who played the female lead in the film, also spoke with a Telangana twang. Similarly, we tried it in films like ���������Dhee��������� and ���������Namo Venkatesa��������� previously as well. True, the Nizam region accounts for 40 per cent of the collection in Telugu cinema, but we are always trying to look at ways to appeal to all three regions ��������� Andhra, Rayalaseema and Telangana.���������
Film scholar Kathi Mahesh Kumar puts the trend in perspective saying, ���������The trend of lead actors talking in the Telangana dialect began with actors like Srihari, who wanted to make a point that they are from Telangana and would use the dialect in their films. Popular cinema seeks to capture popular imagination, and the Telangana issue is a part of popular imagination today and it offers a possibility of drawing in more audiences.��������� A host of character artistes like Venu Madhav, Siva Reddy, Telangana Sakuntala, Duvvasi Mohan, Narsing Yadav also burst on to the scene gradually with a Telangana flavor in their acts.
���������The representation of the Telangana struggle in cinema has always been skewed, but success or failure of a movie depends on packaging. ���������Maa Bhoomi���������, a 1979 Telugu film based on the Telangana rebellion in Hyderabad State, which released along with ���������Sankarabharanam���������, failed to do well at the BO. T���������wood is essentially about commercial cinema that seeks to capitalize on popular emotions. It all boils down to what sells,��������� reasons K Mahesh Kumar.
Producer Shobhu Yarlagadda adds, ���������Cinema is primarily about entertainment and that is basic premise for any film, the political and ideological leanings notwithstanding.���������