MEETING A REMARKABLE MAN - B. NEGI REDDY

B.Negi Reddy used to be a dream merchant par excellence in his heyday. He weaved dreams on celluloid, and termed them films. He was an image maker who successfully packaged three Chief Ministers of South India - MGR , NTR, and Jayalalitha as demigods on celluloid. One of the last Movie Moguls , once upon a time B. Negi Reddy used to have as much as 17 films on floor simultaneously. All that is now a thing of past. In his present avatar, Negi Reddy is an entrepreneur (He runs a studio in Chennai), philanthropist (he has helped build a hospital) and a family man.

A self proclaimed recluse, Reddy doesnt’ give interviews. He agreed to this particular interview only because the topic was very close to his heart; INDIA ! B. Negi Reddy is a Gandhian and a film maker , an unlikely combination. Reddy never treated films as only business, for him films were instruments of mass communication and this outlook, dominated many of his films. For Negi Reddy making films was like farming. Says he, ‘ we used to make pictures , reap the harvest we deserved and then sowed it back into another film. We were like farmers.’

It is very clear that this man feels for films. When asked about the influence of films on society, he feels that in a country like India which is starved of good role models, film stars become social and cultural icons. And as such they have a responsibility towards the society and towards the audience. B. Negi Reddy speaks highly of actors like MGR and NTR who were mindful of this fact and behaved accordingly. He fondly recollects, ‘ MGR never used to smoke on the screen , when asked why, he used to say " If MGR smokes on the screen today, tomorrow college students will follow him, so MGR will never smoke on screen."

As an old time film producer B. Negi Reddy is appalled by the lack of discipline in the film industry today. He also feels that the star system has been the bane of movie business in India. ‘In earlier days, producers take pride in the kind of movies they made. They were highly respected by actors who didn’t even dared to smoke in front of them. But today actors are the rulers and producers have become like dogs in front of them.’ He recalls how NTR came to him one day and begged him for an extra idly for Breakfast as he used to go for Gym practice in the morning and the three idlies he got for Breakfast were not sufficient.

Reddy is equally critical of the other institution in the entertainment business, namely television. He feels that television is having an adverse effect on Indian culture and is acting like cancer. He even gives an example to substantiate his argument, ‘ My wife wore a 7 meters sari, my daughter-in-law a 4 meters sari, and my grand daughter; she wears skirts - she is half naked.’ He feels that all this is being done in the name of entertainment via television. ‘ Television should be used to educate our masses but this is not being done.’

According to B. Negi Reddy this downhill trend is seen in all walks of private and public life. He says sadly, ‘ I am a broken man and so is this country. Bureaucrats are responsible for the shape we are in. Today no one is interested in the nation ; leaders, people…. No one. Even family life is degenerating. We don’t have tolerance towards our own kith and kin. This trend is seen even among states which are fighting . This man is not releasing water to my state , this road belongs to my state…. Well, let me tell you, there are certain assets which belong to the nation as a whole and not individual states….., mines, rivers, nature is all national property.’

Talking about his Gandhian leanings , B. Negi Reddy says, ‘The Mahatma said, India lived in villages, so go to the villages and do khadi business. So I went following Gandhiji’s footsteps before I came into the film industry and became a film producer.’

He laments the lack of leadership that India is facing today. There is anguish in Reddy’s voice as he asks, ‘ where is India today? Bogus politicians rule this country and good people have very little to say. Progress for themselves and not for the nation is the motto of today’s leaders. Did I dream of a country like this’?

Well, some dreams, Mr. Reddy are destined to remain pipe dreams.