Finally it had to happen.

When other film industries in India were crying hoarse over the VCD menace, Tollywood mandarins sat smugly on the sidelines, saying that there would be no such problem in Andhra.

But not any more.

Almost every producer and star is now feeling the pinch of the VCD and almost everyone of them is now talking of fighting 'this evil'.

So far so good.

But the situation in Tollywood is so riven that there is no concerted effort to tackle the problem.

Recently you had Mahesh 'Arjun' Babu dramatically 'raiding' CD parlors.

But the same Mahesh was no where to be seen when other stars were fighting the same battle.

The problem in Tollywood is that stars wake up to the problem only at the time of 'their' release. Nagarjuna gave a clarion call to the fight at the time of Sivamani and Neunnanu release. Ditto for Venky when Gharshana was released. Mahesh Babu in fact was quiet when his director Teja was taking up the issue of video piracy when Nijam was released. But since Arjun is his home production, he is now very vocal.

The much talked about ego is at the root of the problem. No star wants to share the limelight with another. "This is more serious than the actual piracy," says a producer. Producers say that unless the stars cooperate (actors must also reduce their remuneration), we will not live to fight another day," says another leading producer.

Though the voices have been disparate, Tollywood accepts that it is losing a whopping Rs.250 crore a year due the killer piracy.The state government has put in a place a two-member committee to look into the matter, after a delegation of stars met Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy following the Mahesh Babu episode.

Need of the hour is: A clear VCD --- Very Concerted Decision