Tollywoodtown celebrities preparing a real-life script

From leading actor Ravi Teja to director Puri Jagannath and Tarun to Navdeep and down to Tanish besides actress Charmme to art director Chinna and cinematographer Shyam K Naidu, all are reportedly seeking advice from lawyers to face the inquiry from July 19-27 since they have received notices and supposed to attend it.

‘Right now, our actors and directors are preparing themselves to answer tough queries to be posed by the sleuths in the upcoming inquiry. Like say how to stick to the line chosen, instead of wavering and fumbling and almost preparing a script for the same,” says a industry source who feels that consuming drugs will attract one kind of punishment, while peddling will lead to more severe action.

“Actors are guessing that the officials will ask them about their vices and their contacts with peddlers, if any. Also whether they have shared drugs with others and their connection with chain of drug network and so on,” he adds. It may be recalled that police seized mobile of a peddler Celvin and found more than 1,200-odd numbers in his phone book and some suspected to be his clients.

Out of which, 15 to 20-odd T-town names tumbled out during investigation based on call records. “T-town celebrities are easy targets, since police get instant publicity, but what about sons/ daughters of top politicians, bureaucrats, retired police officials and real estate giants who are also in drug net. Why names are selectively leaked, while others are kept under wraps. For instance 15 to 20 members of 1,200 numbers is miniscule, but they caused irreparable damage to T-town as if other industries are pristine and noble,” says an actor.

However, another producer on condition of anonymity says existing NDPS Act is good only on paper. “For instance, in Singapore, possessing drugs is punishable by death so imagine death-fear in the minds of addicts and peddlers. An international lawyer who was handling cases of film stars was punished to death for possessing drug packet in his bag, in Singapore. Hence only tough laws can be a deterrent for addicts and peddlers in India, ” he concludes.