Those connected with the film industry as actors, directors and other technicians have got a breather with the end of first schedule of questioning by the officials of Prohibition and Excise Department in the case of narcotics use and trade, but they are still in doubt about the next move of the investigating agency.
In all, 12 persons — a hotshot director, popular actors and technicians — went through the questioning. They also bore the heat from the media.
Unable to bear the continued media glare for the past fortnight on the drug abuse issue, the Telugu film industry (TFI) made a fervent appeal to Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and sought his intervention to put a halt to it.“We have systems in place to offer counselling to those in the industry who are abusing drugs, but in the past, we could not put pressure on them beyond a certain extent. Now we have stepped up our own vigilance a notch and are counselling those in need, promising absolute anonymity,” said presidents of the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce and its equivalent body in Telangana and Movie Artists Association in the letter.
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Image tarnished
Across the board, all those are unanimous in their contention that there was no fairness in painting the entire industry black when there were thousands from other sections of society who are addicted to drugs. In the letter signed by prominent personalities, they regretted that at a time when the Telugu film industry was shining bright and crossed the ₹2,000 crore-mark, such developments would be detrimental.
They went on to say that the TFI had, in all its existence, never glorified the character of a villain.
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“Evil can never triumph over good and all our stories have been along these lines only,” they said. adding that the industry was and would never be against any group, caste and religion and had always been friendly with successive governments.