US group funds documentary on Telangana

"Many think our demand is for a new state. But we are only appealing for the restoration of a state that existed much before the formation of Andhra Pradesh in 1956," said R. Vidyasagar Rao, a retired chief engineer of the Central Water Commission.

Telangana existed as a state from Sep 17, 1948, until its merger with the Andhra province in 1956, Rao claimed.

"The documentary will deal with that aspect, besides capturing the sad plight of farmers, unemployed youth and general backwardness of the region in all spheres."

New Jersey-based Telangana Development Forum (TDF) has come forward to fund the documentary and also buy airtime to telecast it on important TV networks, he said.

"TDF, headed by non-resident Indian Madhu K. Reddy, has pledged funding for the documentary," Rao said.

The yet to be named short film would be directed by Prem Kumar Aman, recipient of the Fulbright Scholarship and the Commonwealth Media Fellowship.

Aman, who received professional training in television and film direction at Syracuse University in the US, earlier directed "The Shadowlines" -- a documentary dealing with the demand for separate states.

Though Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government has promised to consider the creation of a Telangana state, many of its allies are unaware of the ground realities attached to the demand.

"Many UPA constituents asked us what Telangana was all about after the president broached the issue during his address to parliament in June," said Rao, a leader of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), a UPA ally.

"We believe a tell-all documentary would help clear their doubts and add strength to our demand," he said.

Rao himself had earlier produced "Telangana Kanniti Katha" (A Tearful Tale of Telangana) on the plight of the region's farmers.

He said the new documentary, which would be made at a cost of Rs.1-2 million, would be released in October, by when the government has promised to consider the demand for a Telangana state.

"We plan to distribute 2,000 CDs of the documentary to ministers, lawmakers and eminent personalities across the country to mobilise support for the Telangana demand," said TRS leader Pariyada Krishnamurthy.

However, the TRS itself is not directly involved in the making of the documentary.