Three movie theatres in Solapur cater primarily to the Telugu migrants who have lived in Maharashtra for generations

Priyanka Kakodkar (THE TIMES OF INDIA; April 14, 2019)

Solapur: Padma Chitra Mandir in the heart of Solapur city has just finished screening NTR’s biopic. More than 70 years old — its stunning art deco facade still intact — the theatre shows mainly Telugu films.

Its among the three theatres that cater to the large population of Telugu migrants in Maharashtra city, which is close to both Telangana and Karnataka. Though fewer in numbers than Kannada speakers, Telugu migrants account for 2-3 lakh people. Nearly 70% belong to the weaving community of Padmashalis.

“When there is a big release of our favourite heroes like Pawan Kalyan, Chiranjeevi or Junior NTR, we garland their posters with marigold flowers and lemons,” says Naresh Konda, who works in a garment factory.

In the past, for big-ticket releases, the police were called in for crowd control and fans would set up large cardboard cutouts of their heroes. Today, a large section watches Telugu films on TV though there is a dedicated theatre audience.

“Telugu speakers form a sizeable voter base. Solapur has had three Telugus peaking MPs,” says Ashok Indapure, former general secretary of the Padmashali jati sanstha.

Earlier, the Padmashalis voted mainly Congress but now they have shifted towards BJP, says Indapure. CPM has a following among the beedi workers, with its leader Narsayya Adam winning assembly polls thrice from here.

The Telangana migrants made their way to the state more than 175 years ago, escaping a fierce drought. They settled mainly in Solapur, Icchalkaranji, Nanded, Jalna, Pune and Bhiwandi.

Since Solapur was historically a textile town, Telugu migrants worked mainly in its mills and handloom enterprises. Later, they moved to powerlooms, ready-made garments and beedi trade.

In the beedi-workers colony in Shastri Nagar, locals retain much of Telangana culture including food and customs. Many even arrange marriages in Telangana or find partners for their children from there. “I got my daughter married in Telangana because of its Re 1 rice scheme,” says Laxmibai Vashi, whose family has been in Solapur for generations.

“We eat traditional Telangana food. The only difference is we started eating chapatis in Solapur. Earlier it was only rice,” says Vithalbai Enganti.

The religious jatras in Telangana draw many from Solapur. “At least 10,000 people from Solapur travel each year for the jatra at the Edupayala Durgamma temple in Telangana,” says Srinivas Dasari, reporter with a local paper.

While the migrants speak Telugu, most cannot read or write it. “Since there were no Telugu schools here, they find it difficult to read and write,” says Dasari.

Now, the community is undergoing reverse migration. The educated younger generations no longer wants to work in beedi or garment trade. “They’re migrating to Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad,” says Indapure. “The need to work and fill their stomachs brought them to Solapur. Now, it’s taking them away.”

Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 16, 2019)

After Baahubali and its sequel, director S S Rajamouli has started working on his next. Titled RRR, it’s a two-hero film featuring Jr NTR and Ram Charan. The multilingual is an action-drama film set in the early 1900s. It went on the floors in December with a 10 day-schedule in Hyderabad.

According to a source close to the production, the film features Ram Charan as a cop who works for the British while Jr NTR will play a bandit. “In the ongoing schedule at Ramoji Film-City, the team is filming a larger-than-life action scene which has Ram Charan fighting a thousand goons outside his police station. With guns blazing, weapons drawn and hand-to-hand combats, the makers are going all out to film one of the biggest action sequences seen in an Indian film till now,” added the source.

One of the many face-offs between the duo has been shot in an aluminum factory on the outskirts of Hyderabad. “A large chunk of the film will be set around the abandoned factory, that’s where the entire drama unfolds,” revealed the source.