Telugu film a success in Gauteng (South Africa)

Showing was a first in four decades

Telugu film a success in Gauteng

March 30, 2005

The premiere of the Telugu film Balu ABCDEFG at the Nu-Metro Cinema in Village Walk, Sandton last Friday evening was a first, not only for Gauteng but for all four provinces which comprise the old Transvaal, according to the President of the Transvaal Andhra Sabha, Sam Naidoo.

A good crowd turned up to see the film, bolstered by its recent popularity in KwaZulu-Natal after businessman Shyam Kumar decided to screen the first Telugu film in nearly four decades to a cinema there.

Naidoo thanked Kumar for not neglecting the much smaller Andhra community in Gauteng in his plans to bring them entertainment in their own language, but also appealed to people of other communities to enjoy the product of the Telugu movie industry, the most prolific part of the Indian cinema industry, through English subtitles.

Taking full advantage of this was the Member of Parliament for Region 11, which includes Greater Lenasia, Sisa Njikelana, who was a guest at the screening, as he guffawed loudly along with the rest of the audience at comic scenes.

"From the first time I saw a Hindi film in Durban in 1984, I was very touched by the values in these movies," Njikelana said.

"It struck me that today I was encountering a new Indian language, but to me what is exciting, enjoyable and also inspiring and enriching is again the richness of the Indian culture, the values that get expressed, such as good over evil. Even though the dancing is in a Western style, the Indians have developed their own style."

Kumar said he planned to bring a second Telugu movie and some Tamil films to Gauteng soon.

And no doubt he got the local lasses - who danced before the screening - to perform with just a little extra effort in the hope of being possible participants in a Tamil film he plans to produce with local artists in South Africa!