For Telugus, the love for movies seldom withers even if they land up in countries where it is difficult to connect with filmmaking. But this youngster from a remote village in Nalgonda district is now creating waves in Johannesburg, South Africa, thanks to his passion for films.
Mallikarjun Reddy Nannuri, a software consultant with South African government agencies, is celebrating the craft of filmmaking by introducing the South African International Film Awards (SAIFA) and hosted its first ceremony at Gold Reef City to acknowledge some of the best from the industry in various categories.
“I want to make this event as big as South India International Movie Awards (SIIMA),” says Mallikarjun Reddy, who has had a passion for films since his childhood. He says Nigerian films are quite popular across South Africa.
“There is enough scope to create a huge film industry here and my effort is to bring in films from across the world through such events. I want SAIFA to be as big as SIIMA,” he says, sharing plans to go international by hosting the next SAIFA event in Dubai.
He says Bollywood films are anyway a big craze among the Indian diaspora — those who moved there a couple of centuries ago and recent migrants — as well as locals, and that there is enough scope to create a big South African movie industry too.
Mallikarjun Reddy also has an eye on the Telangana movie industry, which he believes has the scope to expand pretty fast. “The Telugu industry is dominated by people from the Andhra Pradesh region and I have plans to create a separate platform for Telangana films that recognise and promote Telangana culture and talent,” he explains.
With several Indians and locals also sharing his passion, the awards ceremony was a big hit with film stars participating from different countries. The star-studded show also paid tributes to musical legends like Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson and Tina Turner. A visual montage was played to honour all the past South African movie icons as well. Lifetime Achievement awards were presented to Leon Schuster, Katinka Heyns and John Kani.
