Hyderabad: Five Telugu television artistes here were arrested on Saturday, following an attack on the office of a Telugu TV channel and studios. The attack was launched to protest the airing of serials dubbed from other languages. The protesting artistes were arrested at Saradhi Studio, where they had gathered to prevent the shooting of a dubbing serial by Maa TV, a popular entertainment channel, whose office was attacked by the artistes on Friday.
Shooting of a game show at Rama Naidu studio was also disrupted by the protesting artistes Friday night. The police Saturday arrested the five artistes in connection with the attack on the office of Maa TV.
Other protestors escaped after pelting stones on the office and damaging a few cars parked outside. The police shifted the artistes from Saradhi Studio to SR Nagar police station. The protestors however vowed to continue their fight until the channels stop airing dubbed serials.
One artiste said the arrests would not deter them, and the protests would continue. The artistes had earlier set a 'Ugadi' (new year, in the local calendar) deadline for the channels to stop telecast of dubbed serials. When the deadline lapsed Thursday, the agitation grew more intense.
Telugu Television Parishrama Parirakshana Samithi or the committee for the protection of Telugu television industry has been demanding a halt to serials dubbed into Telugu from other languages, saying it was rendering local artistes jobless. Samithi president, Vijay Yadav, who is on indefinite fast at Indira Park here, claimed that the livelihood of 15,000 people dependent of the Telugu TV industry was at stake because serials were being dubbed. He demanded that channels only telecast serials shot in Telugu, and with Telugu artistes.
Eminent filmmaker Allu Arvind, who has stakes in Maa TV, said agreements for dubbing the serials had already been entered into, and stopping the dubbing process would entail huge losses.
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