1058 What we ought not to have learnt from Hollywood, we have aped shamelessly-- Casting Couch

I greatly appreciate Ms. Sri-Reddy, actress of Telugu language Film Industry (also called Tollywood) for her courage in belling the proverbial Cat- of "Casting Couch". Hollywood is the Role Model for Bollywood, the Mumbai (Bombay) Filmy World. And Bollywood is the Role Model for the Film Industries of the Languages of Rest of India. Of course, "Casting Couch" might not have started with Harvey Weinstein. It might have started in the very first year of the Advent of the Hollywood Film Industry, and nobody might have bothered to notice it. For the 21st Century World, the allegations against Mr. Harvey Weinstein might have popularised the phrase of 'Casting Couch'. Italian model Ambra Gutierrez, seems to be the first Actress, who deserves to be credited with the courage of 'Belling the Cat'.

The linked news report of Hindustantimes we can take as the first Reaction/Response from BOllywood, consequent to the Ringing Bells in Hollywood against Mr. Harvey Weinstein. Click here to go to https://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/varalaxmi-sarathkumar-to-ranveer-singh-10-shocking-celebrity-casting-couch-stories/story-dmAeFdbUgXThV1ydgL33LJ.html.

This HindusthanTimes news report, narrated the experiences of ten Bollywood Actors and Actresses who have been offered and narrowly escaped the sufferings of Casting Couch, or gone through the sufferings.

One particular paragraph from this News Report is worth quoting, and examining:--

...
10. Preeti Jain In July 2004, struggling actor Preeti Jain lodged a complaint against director Madhur Bhandarkar. Jain alleged that Bhandarkar had raped her 16 times between 1999 and 2004, under the pretext of marrying her and casting her in his films. The Supreme Court in 2012 quashed the rape case filed against Bhandarkar by the starlet eight years ago. Follow @htshowbiz for more. Link for the htshowbiz: Click here to go to https://twitter.com/htshowbiz

Present Context: Mr. Pavan Kalyan, Telugu film Hero, and Active Politician, advising Ms. ShriReddy the Actress who belled the Cat of Casting Couch, in Telugu Film Industry, TO GO TO COURT, INSTEAD OF GOING TO TV CHANNELS.

Link to what Mr. Pavan Kalyan is reported to have said. Click here to go to https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/dont-protest-on-streets-go-to-the-police-pawan-kalyan-tells-sri-reddy-activists-slam-the-actor-politicians-hypocrisy/articleshow/63773062.cms.

“Evaraina thappu cheste, TV deggariki osthe laabham ledu, court lo case eskomani cheppandi. Ee sensationalism kanna, evairaithe vallaki anyayam chesaro, vallaki court lo, police station lo, chattalunnayi... case veyyamani cheppadi... appudukuda jaraganappudu alantivi chesthe betterga untadi ani nenu bhavisthunanu,” said PK.

(If anybody has been exploited, there is no point in going to TV channels. Insted let them file a case in the courts. Instead of seeking to sensationalise (referring to the nude protest) the issue, they must approach the police and the court of law.)

ybrao-a-donkey's personal views, which are not intended to be imposed on others

As an individual Indian Citizen, Mr. Pavan Kalyan has a right to express his own Opinions and views, under the Fundamental Right of Freedom of Expression. But, we should not forget that he is not just an individual citizen entitled to his right of Freedom of Expression, but also HE IS A PROMINENT MEMBER OF THE TELUGU FILM INDUSTRY CHARGING MILLIONS AND CRORES FOR A ROLE IN FILM, WHICH INVOLVES WORK OF A FEW MONTHS. Very often, 80% of cost of production of a Telugu film, probably Bollywood Film, and even Hollywood film, happen to be the Fat Remuneration of Millions and Crores paid to the Film Heros, and Directors. Their Remuneration is disproportionately high. 80% of the Indian Films and probably Hollywood Films tend to be filth and trash, because the Producers and Distributors have to recover back their moolah. Yet, 80% of the films fail at Box Office. Thus almost all our Heros, and some of Directors are becoming the cause for production of Shit in films and Beneficiaries of Shit in films, while millions and crores of common people are robbed of their hard-earned money through daily-wages or sweat-shop occupations.

I am tempted to use abusive words such as 'shit', 'filth', and 'pigs' to depict the greed of our producers, directors, and Heros. But I shall not use them any more. Reason: I do not want to insult pigs or filth. Indian street pigs do a Great Service of Scavengers of our Streets in Slums, though the pigs also be serving as a medium for spread of vector mosquito born diseases like meningitis, dengue, and chikungunya.

This subject of Casting Couch and 'demand for commitment (another word for demanding surrender to the lude desires of Producers/Directors/Heros/Powers-that-be who dish out roles to Female Character Artists) is a 1000 page subject, requiring 100 blog posts of 10 pages each. Yet, this will have to be handled with perseverance and diligence.

Question: Mr. Pavan Kalyan took nearly one month to express his lop-sided view. You too seem to be neglecting this perilous and pressing problem of Indian Film Industry. Even now, you seem to be writing too little and too late.

Ans: I have initially thought that all these happenings are gyrations, convolutions of the bourgeoisie socio-economics (in my mother tongue Telugu language bUrjuvA vikArAlu బూర్జువా వికారాలు). Bourgeoisie Spasms can be cured only by replacing the bourgeoisie Economies and Societies with Truly Proletarian Marxist/Socialist/Communist Democratic Economies and Societies. Once the Capitalist Economies and Societies get replaced with Working Class Economies and Societies, where inequalities are not allowed to sprout, grow, exist, exploit, reproduce, and never die. Members of Working Classes will have to be very alert and act well-in-time, lest Inequalities arise and penetrate even into Truly Socialist Societies. Vigilance and United Action are the Prices to be paid by Working Class for their Resurrection to Equality.

Question: Don't you view MAA (Movie Artists Association) as a Working Class Organisation?

First, for the benefit of the Non-Telugu Readers all over India, and the World, who do not know anything about MAA, I shall give a link to their 'About-Page': Click here to go to http://www.maastars.com/about-maa/. I also quote below the first few paragraphs from their About Page, to get started:

Movie Artists’ Association was formed on 04-10-1993 with Padmabhushan, Dr. Chiranjeevi as its Founder President and Padma Bhushan Dr.Akkineni Nageswara Rao as Chief Advisor. The term of the office is fixed at 2 years. The Other Office bearers were Sri Gummadi Venkateswara Rao and Sri M.Prabhakara Reddy as Vice President’s, Sri M. Murali Mohan as Secretary, Sri M. Balaiah and Sri K.J.Saradhi as Joint Secretary’s and Sri M.Mohan Babu as Treasurer took charge of the office.

The Presidential post was held by stalwarts like Superstar Krishna, Sri Nagarjuna, Sri Mohan Babu, Sri Naga Babu and the post of General Secretary by Sri A.V.S, Late P.K.Mallikarjuna Rao, Sri Ahuthi Prasad A.J.V. etc., Since then many stalwarts of the Telugu Film Industry have contributed their mite to the betterment of MAA in various ways.

The Association has started with about 50 Artists’ as its members and now swelled to about 700 members, which clearly shows their confidence in the Association.

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To continue adding / modifying / deleting.

1040 I greatly appreciate the courage and self-confidence of Mr. Katti Mahesh in criticising Shri Pavan Kalyan, but Shri Mahesh should be more careful

Mr. Katti Mahesh, a Talented Telugu Actor, a candid and frank Telugu Film Critic, and a Qualified Journalist, is going through a tough phase in his life, because of his courage and convictions. It is not easy to hop from one TV Studio to another TV Studio in Hyderabad, and facing dozens of rebuking questions from Telugu Viewers, for some hours, by and large, with a smiling face is not an easy task. It requires lot of Self-Confidence, which Mr. Mahesh seems to amply possess. But as a well-wisher of Mr. Katti Mahesh, not that he does not know, he seems to be a more knowledgeable, and resourceful person than me, I have a word of caution. There is a Proverb "PramAdO dhImatA api" which means even a wise person can accidentally slip and injure himself. If it is some minor physical injury such as 'a sprain on an ankle', it may be alright. But, in case of words it is not so. Once words slip from the mouth/tongue -now probably- Computer keyboard/Mouse, it will be difficult to back. And, there will be people to chase and hound. Hence I appeal to him, as far as possible, to prepare written statements, show them to his Lawyers and Senior Journalists, get their advice, and then only speak out / tweet. Ex Tempore speaking in ordinary times may not cause much harm, but in testing times, where every TV Viewer and Netizen is too eager to catch a person for his-her faults, the Ex Tempore must be very careful. Else he-she will land themselves in avoidable hardships and hazards.

Telugu Poet Late Shri-Shri wrote: (In Telugu Script, Roman Script, followed by English Gist:)

నిప్పులు చిమ్ముకుంటూ nippulu chimmu kunTU
నింగికి నేను ఎగిరిపోతే ningiki nEnu egiri pOtE
నిబిడాశ్చర్యంతో వీరు! nibiDAscharyam tO vIru !

నెత్తురు కక్కుకుంటూ netturu kakku kunTU
నేలకు నేరాలిపోతే nElaku nE rAli pOtE నిర్దాక్షిణ్యంగా వీరే!! nirdAkshiNyam gA vIrE !

Approx. English Gist: nippulu chimmu kunTU = Sprewing Fire,
ningiki nEnu egiri pOtE = When I cruise into the Space
nibiDAscharyam tO vIru = These people, gazing their mounts, with Awe and Wonder

netturu kakku kuntU = Vomiting Blood
nElaku nE rAli pOtE = When I fall onto the ground
nirdAkshiNyam gA vIRE = The Same people, devoid of sympathy !!

The message here is, the same people who look up with awe and admiration when a person rises, will show no empathy when the flight meets a disaster. That means, we should not believe or trust people, for their consistency or reliability. More people will be eager to throw stones, for a person who fails.

Question: You seem to be a cynic or a pessimist. Mr. Mahesh is throwing aspersions on everybody in TV Channels. Why do you try to defend him?

Something may be wrong with my eyes or in my thinking. But I must say that Mr. Katti Mahesh appears more reliable to me , when compared to Mr. Pavan Kalyan, and his hundreds of thousands of (some of them gullible or blind, probably) followers, who are chasing Mr. Mahesh.

Mr. Mahesh appears to be like the lonely Abhimanyu, who entered Padma VyUha (Lotus Formation) with great valor, when sent by his Elder Uncle King YudhishThira. Those who are familiar with Kurukshetra war and the Mahabharata Epic, know that Abhimanyu met his tragic end in the Lotus Formation, as he was surrounded by Duryodhana-Dussasana-Karna-Drona Company, disarmed, and killed mercilessly.

Question: Do you think that Katti Mahesh might have been sent into this Lotus Formation by YSRCP Party or Mr. Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy?

Everything is possible in this Bourgeoisie World, but yet, from the way in which Mr. Mahesh is handling this question on TV Channels with substantial courage, I am personally tempted to believe that YSRCP or Jagan may not be behind Katti Mahesh. I shall try to write reasons and discuss reasons for my perception, shortly.

To come back and continue adding / deleting / modifying. Only 10% complete.