Vijayashanthi, on Saturday, described critics who give negative reviews as sadists and vile. Since she is a senior actress from the '90s cinema and her Telugu is relatively strong, she described the critical media outlets (most likely, she had YouTubers and a certain paid social media pages in her mind) as "dushta shaktulu".
Vijayashanthi's contention is that crores are at stake every time a film gets made. If a film flops, stakeholders lose big monies and the careers of artists and technicians get destroyed overnight. That's why, if you have to review a movie, give only positive reviews. If you don't like a movie, then keep quiet.
This line of thinking is bizarre. In an industry where distributors lose their entire net worth because of big-ticket flops, it is dishonest to blame the media. If your heart bleeds for distributors, simply ask your producer not to subject them to one-sided deals. Or, better still, ask your heroes not to charge any remuneration and opt for a revenue-sharing model (like Aamir Khan has been doing for more than twenty years).
The media has become fair game. On one hand, most heroes, heroines and directors have multiplied their fees in the last ten years. On the other hand, distributors have been taken for a ride by producers who want to recover their insane investments in movies. If the cost of production comes down, losses can be avoided even if admissions are poor. Vijayashanthi entered politics to herald change. Can't she muster the courage to criticize male leads in her own industry?
