"Why does Narendra Modi deserve to win? What development has he brought to the nation? He merely cashed in by playing the card of ‘nationalistic pride’ and stoking it repeatedly," said KCR.
Taking strong exception to this, yesteryear actress Vijayashanti who is now part of the BJP put up a post on Facebook.
"You have no moral right to question Modi. Did you not play the regional sentiment card in 2014 and come to power? You used the same instrument again in 2019 to stay in office. Is it not?" questioned Vijayashanti.
Ironically, in those days, Vijayashanti was a part of TRS and she attracted attention with her vitriolic statements such as, “Andhra vallani addanga narikeyyandi.”
Therefore, when she says that KCR used the sentiment for personal gain, she is also guilty of the same offense. Therefore, these politicos, accusing one another is, a classic case of the ‘pot calling the kettle black’.
In one sense though, Vijayashanti can consider herself to be lucky that Tollywood is such a big-hearted industry which has young directors with plenty of ambition and zero self-respect who are still keen on casting her in their films despite all the poison she vomited against the Andhras.
At the end of the day, does talent take precedence over character or are there directors, actors and producers in Tollywood who respect their Andhra identity to the point where they would not want to compromise it for material gain?
Written By Usha Choudary
(The author is a senior journalist. Views are personal)