HYDERABAD: Cinematography Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav met Tollywood superstars Nagarjuna and Chiranjeevi on Tuesday to talk about a slew of measures to further develop the film industry and provide welfare schemes to cine workers.

The meeting was held at Chiranjeevi’s residence in Jubilee Hills. FDC former chairman P Rammohan Rao, film producer Niranjan Reddy and FDC ED Kishore Babu too were present at the meeting.
Among an array of measures, the three discussed the implementation of a simplified online ticketing system for all theatres across the State.

The two actors wanted the Minister to allocate land to set up a film institute, which will be at par with international standards, near Shamshabad.

The film stars also stressed the need for an institute to train the workers in the 24 departments of the film industry and enhance the knowledge of the film technicians. They wanted Talasani to allocate 10 acres of land near the existing Chitrapuri colony to construct houses for cine workers. They also asked the Minister to construct a cultural centre for artistes on a two-acre land in Jubilee Hills. They requested the State to provide identity cards to film and TV artistes through the Film Development Corporation (FDC). The three discussed the possibility of organising an annual film awards ceremony.

“All the State welfare schemes should also be extended to cine workers. The government should implement the Employee State Insurance (ESI) scheme and group insurance scheme for cine workers,” the actors told the Minister.

The Cinematography Minister said that if donors came forward, the government would construct a hospital and school in Chitrapuri colony.