HYDERABAD: Reiterating his vision to transform Telangana into a cultural hub and create space for the Telugu film industry to thrive, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday underlined the importance of taking Telugu cinema to the global stage.

“Hyderabad is potentially the best place in the country to promote cinema, more than even Mumbai. The Telangana government will work to promote Telugu cinema in a way that people from all regions in the country will have exposure to Telugu cinema. There will be an opportunity for all films to blossom in the state,” said KCR at the audio launch of veteran actress Jayasudha’s son Shreyan Kapoor’s Basti.

Incidentally, this is the first time Rao has attended an audio launch of any film. The CM assured Tollywood that he would listen to all the issues which the film industry is currently facing and promised to make Hyderabad a favourable destination for cinema.

“As soon as possible, most probably in two-three days, I will meet with all the bigwigs from the Telugu film industry and discuss the issues at hand. I have also discussed with Chiranjeevi about developing the industry and we are also considering building Filmnagar 2 in Hyderabad,” announced Rao. The TS CM also asserted that apart from aspiring artistes and directors, the Telangana government would also encourage and support junior artistes and technicians. Basti will launch Jayasudha’s son Shreyan Kapoor into the industry and is being made under the direction of Vasu Mantena.

Heaping praises on the actor, KCR said he would be the Amitabh Bachchan of the south, and hoped Basti will renew his interest in films. Produced by Vasu Mantena, Basti also features actress Pragathi Chaurasiya in the lead.