Back during the peak of the Telangana movement before 2014, there was a lot of criticism about Andhra personalities dominating Telugu cinema in the former Andhra Pradesh.
Sometimes, film crews were even attacked during shoots. Now, about a decade later, just when we thought those days were over, there’s a new disagreement involving veteran music composer MM Keeravani.
The Revanth Reddy administration recently asked Keeravani to compose the Telangana state anthem. But the Telangana Musicians Association didn’t like this decision. They wrote to Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, saying it should have been given to a musician from Telangana.
They think since Telangana was formed to give more opportunities to people from there, Keeravani, being from Andhra, shouldn’t have got this chance.
While their point makes sense in some ways, criticizing Keeravani, who has earned respect nationally and internationally, is unfair.
These demands also focus too much on separate identities instead of celebrating our shared Telugu heritage. People like MM Keeravani belong not just to Telugu speakers but to all Indians.