Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekkhara Reddy is playing himself in a Telugu movie with a 'social message', which will hit the screen just before the next elections.
The film, reportedly based on a Hollywood flick of 1939 Mr Smith Goes to Washington, is being produced by Visu Films of CC Reddy, a relative of the chief minister and state government's advisor.
It portrays YSR as a political leader committed to the welfare of the poor and the weak.
The film, whose Mahurat shot was canned at the chief minister's official residence in Begumpet on Saturday, has veteran Telugu actor Brahmanandam in the lead role of a tribal, who tries to seek the intervention of the chief minister to solve the problems of his hamlet.
The most interesting feature of the film is that it is a silent movie, first to be so since the Kamla Haasan starrer Pushpak Vimanam.
Though he donned grease paint for the first time, YSR had no problem in facing the camera along with other artistes. The scene involved Brahmanandam who tries to enter the CM's residence to meet him and submit a representation.
But security personnel beat him up, leading him with a bleeding injury. YSR, who watches the incident, warns the security staff and asks them to bring Brahmanandam to him. The chief minister assures the tribal of justice and solving his problems
According to PA Arun Prasad, the director of the movie, later on in the film the chief minister will take a helicopter to a remote tribal hamlet from where Brahmanandam had come with the complaint. He fulfils his promise of resolving the problems of the village.
YSR, who seemed to enjoy his new role, said, "I have been acting in the politics for last forty years and now I have got an opportunity to act in a film."
Arun Prasad said YSR agreed to work in the film because it was the project of CC Reddy, a relative of the chief minister.
Interestingly, a professional politician like YSR will make his screen debut at a time when several film stars are bitten by the political bug.
Chiranjeevi, the megastar of Telugu films, is about to launch a political party and other actors like Rajasekhar, Balakrishna and NTR Junior are also taking keen in politics.
Apart from YSR, another senior Congress leader and former minister -- M Satyanarayana Rao -- is also playing the role of chief minister in another movie Satyameva Jayate. A cabinet of YSR Knna Lakshminarayana is playing the role of defence minister in another Telugu film Soldier.
Andhra Pradesh, known for its craze for films has had a film star, NT Rama Rao, as the chief minister for nearly ten years. NT Rama Rao also founded the Telugu Desam Party, founded by him is still going strong. NTR had also acted in a film while serving as the chief minister in 1987-88.
