Chiru-Balayya rivalry: Effect on T'wood
- IndiaGlitz, [Friday,January 13 2012]
For those who thought that Chiranjeevi treats 'sodarudu' Balakrishna as his brother, and Balayya respects Chiru, their recent political sparring came as a shock. Well, they are no more full-time actors. While the Megastar has stopped throwing hints at donning the greasepaint, the Nandamuri hero has been indicating that he will become a full-time politico sooner than later.
Balakrishna, who will contest on a TDP ticket in the 2014 elections, has every reason to take potshots at his opponent in the Congress party. But, we are not interested in the political rivalry of the duo. What is of interest here is this question: what kind of effect, if any, will the chasm between Chiranjeevi and Balakrishna, have on the film industry?
To be sure, Balayya's relatives like Junior NTR are active in the industry. On the other hand, Chiru's family members (read Pawan Kalyan, Naga Babu, Allu Arjun, Ram Charan) are in full throttle. Come election time, the effect of blow hot relations between the two superstars of the '80s and '90s in politics will spill over to the films coming from the two camps. So hold some observers.
Using the platform of films for political propaganda is not strange to Tollywood. Dasari, for one, had used Mestri as a tool against Chiru, who was heading the now-disbanded Praja Rajyam Party. It is to be seen how the rivals are going to settle scores come election time.