How Mahesh Babu's films attempted to empower rural India – Entertainment News, Firstpost

In the recent films of Mahesh Babu, Maharshi, Bharat Ane Nenu and Srimanthudu all sinister roads led to the same place – to take an interest in social problems and to give more powers to the villages. The concept of a hero who goes to a village to do justice to the poor and oppressed is one of Telugu cinema's most recurring stories. Yet, these films, starring Mahesh Babu, go even further and seriously attempt to highlight the real issues that beset the campaign.

The latest film by the actor, Maharshi takes a closer look at the agrarian crisis and the farmer. suicides in rural areas. One of the subplots of the film is about a village, Ramavaram, which is about to be wiped out when a business magnate begins to acquire land to build a gas pipeline. As a result, thousands of farmers are forced to sell their land and migrate to other regions.

In Bharat Ane Nenu directed by Koratala Siva, Mahesh Babu played the role of chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh. Although the film addresses many issues, including education, health care, road traffic, corruption, which really caught the attention of all, it is the idea of ​​self-governance in the villages . The main character, Bharat, offers each year a fund of 5 crores of rupees per village to solve their problems locally, much to the chagrin of other politicians. The film also highlighted the need for appropriate health care in villages and information centers for farmers. And in Srimanthudu, there was talk of a wealthy man who was adopting a village and how he was dealing with the problems, especially the illegal acquisition of land and the problems of farming. water, at the local level.

The three films went on to become box office hits. The star of Mahesh Babu might have attracted a lot of people, but it is essential to understand the context in which these films have been so successful. Each problem dealt with in these three films finds its roots in real incidents and ongoing debates on how to solve the problems facing the agricultural world.

For example, the fact that farmers are forced to sell their land to make way for multi-billion dollar projects bears a striking resemblance to several real-life examples across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. In 2011, more than 250 farmers near Hyderabad complained of being deceived by a gas transportation company and claimed they had not received fair compensation. The most important problem of recent years has been addressed in Amaravati, the capital of the state of Andhra Pradesh, where hundreds of farmers were wondering if they should give their land to. voluntarily to build the new capital or continue their agricultural activities.

of how the land acquisition forced several people to abandon agriculture. It must also be remembered that unusual rains in both States have caused considerable damage, resulting in considerable loss of income.

In another scene from the same film, Rishi, the character portrayed by Mahesh Babu, says he donates 90% of his wealth to building warehouses and helps farmers sell their products directly to consumers . The scene reflects another burning problem of the lack of MSP (Minimum Support Price) for farmers, for their products, in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. In some areas, the problem is so severe that farmers have taken unusual steps to make their voices heard. Earlier this year, more than 200 turmeric farmers presented nominations for the Lok Sabha elections in Telangana's Nizamabad constituency, after the government failed to set up a committee to deliver on their promise to guarantee the MSP. against turmeric. Some even went to Varanasi to apply for the election, just to be heard.

The subtext of these three films is that the agricultural sector, as a profession, has generally lagged behind. which resulted in a major disruption of village life. This coincides with the general impression that a significant number of farmers themselves are concerned about their work. According to a study by the Center for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), nearly 76% of farmers want to give up farming for a variety of reasons, including low incomes, rising labor costs and the rains off season. The lack of poor health and education infrastructure has also led to their migration to cities. This aspect was at the heart of Srimanthudu where Rajendra Prasad, who played a key role, tries to convince the inhabitants of his village not to leave the village. And then in Maharshi also, there is a discussion about how villages are being wiped out and people forced to leave their homes in search of a livelihood.

Not only are the issues addressed in these three films addressed. relevant at the present time, but they are also needed.

However, some criticisms were made against these filmmakers, in Telugu and Tamil, claiming that they had reduced farmers and their problems to a bottom line of the narrative. Although this aspect remains open to debate concerning Maharshi, Srimanthudu and Bharat Ane Nenu the films inspired some to contribute to society. After the liberation of Srimanthudu Mahesh Babu himself adopted his native village, Burripalem, in Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh. "It all started when my brother-in-law Jay Galla suggested I adopt a village, but I was still shooting for Srimanthudu. And I did not want to give the impression that I was doing it for the advertisement of the film, "said Mahesh Babu in 2015.

His latest film, Maharshi emphasized the concept "Weekend farming", which was a call to action for city dwellers, especially young people, to spend their weekends on a farm. Shortly after the release of the movie, many articles on social media were published by enthusiastic fans and moviegoers who seemed to be open to the idea.

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Publication date: May 19, 2019 13:12
| Last Updated: May 19, 2019 1:12 pm

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Date Updated: May 19th, 2019 13:12:23 HIST

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