It’s going late into the night, but Venkat Siddareddy (who’s a faculty at the Ramanaidu Studios unit), managing relief material for all the trucks heading to a rain-battered Chennai from the Studios is still waiting for the last truck to be loaded for the day. Along with him are 40 other volunteers, including some of the film school students, some volunteers and several actors who’ve constantly dropped by to support with aide. His mobile battery is down, for he’s been spending a major part of his time in the last few days coordinating with actors and volunteers, for the ‘Mana Madras Kosam’ initiative organised by the Telugu film fraternity.
“Anything and everything ranging from biscuit packets, water, rice and dal is what we’re ensuring in the form of kits. For those who want to donate monetarily, we’ve specified account numbers, so that, our team can buy what’s required. There’ve been equal help from both fronts. It’s been going on for the last five days,” reveals Venkat. Though many people have lined up for contributions, both in terms of goods and money transfers, the issue has been the amount of used clothes they’ve received and can’t distribute. “The ones who’re helping should imagine themselves in the shoes of the affected. Moreover, with time, the need for more blankets, medicines, sanitary napkins and undergarments have risen. These were dimensions people couldn’t anticipate in their donations. Still there’s time and it’ll be a good sign to see these accessories reach us too,” he adds.
The cause taken up by the Telugu film industry has earned support and accolades from several quarters. While some people have conveyed their support on social media platforms, an impressive lot was also in action to garner all their resources together from their part. Technicians and actors, including the Rana Daggubati, Nani, Samantha, Allari Naresh, Allu Arjun, Kajal Aggarwal, Rakul Preet, Madhu Shalini, Lakshmi Manchu and Navdeep have been flocking malls to ensure crowd support.
“It was a tough fact to digest, that we are so comfortable on one end and in another place, they’re battling for life, living without electricity, food, shelter and proper connectivity. Social media was a boon for people reacted so soon to what we initially thought was a small idea. To pull in a crowd of 15,000 on a Sunday was no small task. When we realise, anything from a candle to a match box to a mosquito repellent is needed, it is important that people chip in,” says actress Madhu Shalini, who reveals a part of Chennai always resides in her heart. She too had a nerve-wracking wait to know the whereabouts of her friend who was travelling from Tirupathi to Chennai until she got to know, he was safe. More trucks for ‘Mana Madras Kosam’ are being planned in the coming days.
What you can do
Pack 10 kg rice, 5kg dal, 2kg sugar, 5kg chilli powder, 1kg tamarind, 1kg salt, candles, matches, mats, sleeping blankets, mosquito repellents, 1 kg milk powder and send them as kits to Ramanaidu Studios, Film Nagar
Monetary donations can go to :
Ramanaidu Charitable Trust
Account number: 18090200000113
Bank: Bank of Baroda
Branch: Jubilee hills Branch
IFSC Code: BARB0JUBILE (0 being zero and not the letter)
