Telugu Movie Artistes Association is in talks with the Mumbai-based Cine and TV Artistes Association (CINTAA) to seek affiliation. Such a move would help Telugu actors working in Hindi films and vice versa. “It is a path-breaking move,” says MAA Vice-President Madala Ravi.
Q: How this deal with CINTAA would benefit Telugu actors?
A: Our team under actor and president Vishnu Babu is determined to gain affiliations from various actor associations across India to enable Telugu actors to work in any language movie without any hassles. Hence, we initiated dialogue with CINTAA for affiliation and the draft proposal is getting ready and we hope it will fructify soon. It will benefit Telugu actors working in Hindi and Bollywood actors working in Telugu.
A: How about seeking affiliation from Nadigar Sangam to work in Tamil movies?
A: We would be soon meeting members of Nadigar Sangam (South Indian Artistes Association) for affiliation to make things easier for Telugu actors in the Tamil Film Industry. Telugu actors like Kota Srinivasa Rao and Thanikella Bharani have worked in Kollywood. We will also approach Malayalam and Kannada actors’ guilds.
With most of the films being pan-India or multilingual these days, all language actors should have easy passage to various language movies because actors belong to one family. If this happens, actors can resolve their disputes, if any, at respective guilds without running from pillar to post.
Q: We learnt that membership shored up in MAA after slashing membership fees.?
A: More than 100-odd members have taken up the membership under our tenure after we slashed the membership fee from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 75,000. Our special drive helped in roping in other language stars like Satyaraj and Samuthrakani along with others. Our membership has touched the 1000 mark if associate members are also included.
Q: What about welfare measures and MAA building plans?
A: We truly understand that MAA is meant for welfare and we brought in a 6-month ‘executive health checkup’ for our members at super specialty hospitals free of cost. We also prepared a catalog of 200-odd actors who desperately need work and sent them to various production houses, seeking work for them. MAA building choice will be made by our members in the general body meeting as Vishnu Babu has given three spots to choose from.
