Hyderabad:
Tollywood is very much in the thick of the action around Telangana. Attacks on shoot locations of four different films associated with people from the non-Telangana regions of the state has forced chief minister Rosaiah to appeal to protestors not to scare the film industry away.
"Industry is feeling scared now. Please don't show your ire on them. They say we still have homes in Chennai and hopefully circumstances won't force them to go back," said Rosaiah.
It took a lot of coaxing and incentives to bring the Telugu film industry from Chennai to Hyderabad in the 70s. Having built on that, Hyderabad is now home to impressive film infrastructure comparable to the best anywhere.
"Definitely, there is confusion and nervousness. Historically, the film industry will be where they are comfortable. We will want to make films for everyone," Film Producer, Suresh Babu said.
The Telugu film industry is perceived to be dominated by people from the non-Telangana regions of the state.
Pro-Telangana supporters point out that a critical analysis of Telugu films would reveal a distinct bias against the culture and kind of Telugu spoken in Telangana, and also that a Telangana man is mostly projected as a comedian or a villain, not a hero.