Hours after Prime Minister Modi shared visuals of his interaction with top Bollywood stars to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Upasana Konidela, an entrepreneur from the Apollo Hospitals family, called out the PM for not inviting Southern film stars.
Upasana Konidela, who is also married to Telugu actor Ram Charan, questioned why the southern film industry was 'neglected'.
She took to Twitter and Instagram, stating that she was expressing her feelings and hoped they would be taken in the right spirit, “Dearest @narendramodi ji. We in the South of INDIA admire you & are Proud to have you as our Prime Minister. With all due respect we felt that the representation of Leading personalities & cultural icons was limited only to Hindi Artists and The South Film Industry was neglected. I express my feelings with pain & hope it’s taken in the right spirit. Jai Hind.”
Several social media users agreed with the vice-chairman of Apollo Charity and chief editor of B Positive magazine. A netizen replied, "I have typed the same and do not have guts to post twitter...thank you madam." Another person commented: "Truly said madam our South Indian legends like Megastar chiranjeevi, Super Star Rajni and Kamal Hassan are to be invited.....jai hind Narendra Modi."
To celebrate 150 years of Gandhi, filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani brought eight leading actors together for the special tribute video, which was launched by the PM at his official residence.
Among those present at the 'Change Within' interaction that followed the video launch were Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kapil Sharma, Sonam Kapoor, Rakul Preet Singh, Jacqueline Fernandez, Kangana Ranaut, Rajkumar Hirani, Rajkumar Santoshi, Ashwini Iyer Tiwari, Nitesh Tiwari, Ekta Kapoor, Wardha Nadiadwala, Boney Kapoor and Jayantilal Gada.
No actor or celebrity from any other film industry was present at the event.
The PM tweeted pictures with the fraternity, saying the "interaction with leading film personalities and cultural icons was fruitful".
"Spreading the thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi through cinema, ensuring more youngsters are well-acquainted with the ideals of Gandhi Ji. We exchanged thoughts on a wide range of subjects," he said.
Our film and entertainment industry is diverse and vibrant. Its impact internationally is also immense. Our films, music and dance have become very good ways of connecting people as well as societies, the prime minister added.