Help rescue ryots, NGO appeals to matinee idol

Musheerabad: The Save Global Farmers' Foundation has appealed to Telugu superstar Mahesh Babu and 'Maharshi' producers to come to the rescue of farmers.

Foundation leader Ravindar Radya in a statement on Wednesday said Mahesh Babu had acted in films with messages during the last 25 years and that he had a special place in the Telugu cinema industry. Radya recalled that Mahesh Babu had adopted his native village Burrepalem to show his social responsibility to his fans.

He said the star's latest film 'Maharshi' showed him suggesting solutions to the problems of farmers, like week-end farming and reorganisation of marketing set-up, which have also come to the notice of the foundation.

Radya lauded the actor's decision in the film to give 90 per cent of his income to farmers, "as it amounted to awakening the current generation which has forgotten agriculture." He said the foundation wanted the star to rescue the families of farmers who have committed suicide and become a bridge ('Ramasethu') to save both the farming sector as also the Telugu film industry.

Radya recalled that the foundation had organised agitations demanding a turmeric board to benefit farmers, announcement of support price, allotting profits generated in cricket to ryots.