Bollywood hotties banned from Tamil cinema?

The South Indian Artistes Association, popularly known as Nadigar Sangam, has cracked the whip on actors from Mumbai for doing Tamil films without being members of the organisation. Nadigar Sangam chief Sarath Kumar had made it clear that those who are not members of the association cannot do Tamil films.



On Friday, a few members of the Sangam barged into the sets of the Dhanush-Genelia starrer Uttama Puthiran and demanded to know why Genelia wasn’t a member of the association in Tamil Nadu. Says a Nadigar Sangam member, “Ever since she debuted in Tamil with Shankar’s Boys in 2003, we have been asking her to become a member of our organisation. Though she did several Tamil films like Sachein, Chennai Kadhal and Santosh Subramaniyam, she has been constantly evading our requests.” This time, the members were able to corner Genelia and make her promise that she’d join the Nadigar Sangam before the end of the month. As a Nadigar Sangam member remarked, “Genelia is currently doing two Tamil films and we’re sure she will join our organisation this time. Otherwise, we will take up the issue with the producers of her films.”

The Nadigar Sangam has been repeatedly stating that “if outstation actors do not become members of the association, they should not be allowed to do films in Tamil.” Sources add, “The situation has got out of control as more Mumbai girls came and did Tamil films, making it their bread and butter. None of these actresses cared to become members, spoiling the chances of others who were members.” The latest is that clear instructions have been given to Nadigar Sangam members that they should not act with nonmembers who are a part of the same film.

Some time ago, a top Mumbai-based glam girl was forced to become a member after she had a problem with a producer who refused to keep his financial commitment. For any outstation actress, becoming a member of Nadigar Sangam goes a long way in garnering local support in case of dispute over salary and dates. However, the actors try to bypass the Sangam as they feel that there’s no need to pay the huge membership fee that is levied on them.

Meanwhile, the organisation has decided to implement their decision. The question they’re asking is — Why shouldn’t action be taken against actresses like Anushka, Sameera Reddy, Divya Spandana, Kajal Aggarwal and Hansika Motwani for doing Tamil films without being members of the Nadigar Sangam?