Drug scandals rock Tollywood

The links between drug peddlers and the movie industry is an established truth. However, the latest news about the arrest of actor Abhishek in possession of the drugs is disturbing to say the least. This issue rakes up past instances where other cinema artistes from Tollywood were arrested.

It may be recalled that in July 2011, actor Varun Sandesh of 'Happy Days' fame was caught buying 50 grams of cocaine from a Nigerian national at Langar House in Hyderabad.
News reports also suggested that a junior artiste Siddharth, a film producer and director too were involved in the case.
Another case is that of mass hero Ravi Teja's brothers—Raghu Babu and Bharat Raju who were also caught buying cocaine from a Nigerian in Banjara Hills in August 2010.
In February 2010, Tollywood producer KV Rao was arrested while in possession of cocaine.
What shocked the industry was the discovery of contact numbers of some top actors found on drug peddlers' phone book. Some names that came under the scanner included big stars such as Rana Daggubati, Trisha, Uday Kiran and Nani.
Interestingly, it is learnt that the peddlers have codenamed drugs after Tollywood stars especially heroines. For example Ecstasy is named Anushka, while opium is named Trisha.
The thriving drug scene in the Southern cinema industry is blamed on the growing pub culture in the city. It's no secret that the rich and famous throng pubs and think taking drugs is symbolic of making a lifestyle statement. However, in case of celebrities depression, under-achievement  poor relationships,  impaired judgment, peer pressure, sinking career, insomnia, not being to maintain status in the society are seen as the reasons for substance abuse.
Worst is when the dependency increases and they go to any extent to get possession of the drugs. This ultimately results in them being caught. Such situations does little to save their name or reputation in the society.
Experts say, this is only tip of the iceberg! Will many skeletons tumble out? Let's hope not...as we live in a society where we do idol worship and tend to imitate their action. And we can't afford to draw inspirations from such bad examples!
Reshmi@Sakshipost