The Tollywood film industry doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry over the news that sixteen producers, directors and stars have been charged with the indecent representation of women. Among those charged are industry luminaries: K.S.Rama Rao, K.Raghavendra Rao, Ashwini Dutt, Dasari Narayana Rao, G.Ramesh Babu, Devi Varnaprasad, Ashwini Dutt, Mumaith Khan, Bellamkonda and M.L.Kumar Chowdary.
Perhaps the most well-known of the personalities on the list is actress Mumaith Khan, whose fame has now been assured by the declining die-hard Southern traditionalists. Mumaith is half-Pakistani and half-Indian and is well-known for her hot item numbers in the South, that would pass practically unnoticed in Bollywood. She was seen doing such a number in the Hindi movie Munna Bhai MBBS but her greatest success was probably in Pokiri – the Tamil version. She has also made her mark in Bollywood with noticeable appearances in Big Brother and Fight Club: Members Only.
The industry is not taking the charges too seriously. It’s part of an ongoing war being fought between city and country; traditional and modern; secular and religion in the deep South of India.
