Nandi Awards debate heats up in TFI

After the state's bifurcation, no one cared about Nandi Awards. It has been a while since the awards were presented. Everyone seemed to be forgotten about it as well. All of a sudden, Posani Krishna Murali raised the issue.

Posani, who happens to be the chairman of Andhra Pradesh Film Development Corporation, said that Nandi Awards are not decided by a caste but by money. He said that neither Kamma nor Kapu communities dominate the film industry. He stated that money is the real ruler here.

Posani stated there would be severe pressure on jury members from different camps while selecting winners. He went on add that even though the jury members are dominated by Kammas, the caste factor doesn't play a role in deciding awards.

Posani said that even though he was announced as a Nandi Award winner for his performance in Temper, he rejected it as he feels it was like a Kamma Award. He pointed out that he fought for writers who deserved Nandi Awards in the past but he was abused for the same.

On the other side, senior producer Tammareddy Bharadwaja responded to Posani's comments in his own style. He didn't agree with Posani's point of a single community's dominance in the selection committee. He opined that it is not right to bring caste and religion into cinema. Tammareddy also felt that neither Telangana nor Andhra government is really interested in presenting these awards. He said that if industry folks want to fight, they should fight. Otherwise, they should keep calm. He stated that there is no use in making these kinds of comments.

Meanwhile, RRR's writer Vijayendra Prasad also has his say in the issue of the Nandi Awards. He urged the government of Telangana to present these awards from now on. He said that the government should encourage Telangana-based films by presenting these awards. He stated that there are many unexplored tourist places in Telangana which can be promoted through films and it will eventually help the state's tourism.

On the whole, RRR's Oscar win raised the Nandi Awards issue in the Telugu film industry once again. As the debate is getting heated up, we have to see if the governments of Telugu states take a decision anytime soon.