The way the spectre of drug abuse has come to haunt Tollywood should raise the eyebrows of one and all.  Since the past few days, we have been inundated with news about the rampant proliferation of drug mafia with the active support of some Tollywoodians.  Most important than the fact that some of the frontline actors and Mumbai heroines are sniffers of cocaine etc., is the reality that a couple of A-listers of the Telugu film industry are suspects.  Reportedly and according to some leads available with the Hyderabad cops, these high-profile suspects are actively abetting the industry.  Since they have never been deterred in the past, they are emboldened to act with impunity.

Discussing this issue now in special focus, one must make the valid point that drug abuse has been prevalent in the Hyderabad filmdom since decades; only that it has become pervasive and grown to gigantic proportions only now.  Quip the cops, the criminals are well-organised and they plan their moves with arithmetical precision.  Which explains why the police have not been able to bust a good number of the rackets, in spite of all the efforts they have made in the past to nab them.

The well-entrenched drug mafia has close connections with some noted Telugu film personalities, scream media reports.  Who are these black sheep in the industry giving law-enforcers a tough time?  What is their mode of operating?  With who all do they have an unholy nexus?  Is this racket backed by the political class?  These and many more troubling questions remain unanswered.  To begin with, going by some early confessions and leads, it can be safely presumed that the minions of some Tollywoodians have links with nefarious elements from countries like Nigeria.  The arrest of a Nigerian youth in connection with this is testimony to this fact.

After the name of Varun Sandesh was dragged into the now messy issue recently, the focus on the disgruntled drug-related activities in the industry has only been renewed.  Some months ago, a debate was sparked by a statement made by AK Khan, who maintained that 64 film personalities are linked with the drug racket.  The question arises: What stops the police from naming them and putting them behind the bars?

Without doubt, some big fish are involved in the whole fraud.  It is not just  those heroes who are down in the dumps and frustrated who are drug-sniffers.  Clearly, a legion of happening heroes, made-in-Mumbai belles, creative directors and greedy producers are active in the business. Some disgruntled elements get in touch with middlemen, who in turn make the offer to interested recruits from Tollywood.  It can also happen the other way round: Filmwallahs begin the chain and the circle ends with the peddler supplying them in wanted proportions.