Tollywood celebrities light diyas, show support for PM's call

Telugu cinema stars supported Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal to light diyas, candles and mobile phone torches for nine minutes at 9 pm on Sunday.

A host of celebrities ranging from actors Chiranjeevi and Nagarjuna to playback singer Rahul Sipligunj and television host Suma Kanakala were seen lighting diyas and candles to 'fight the darkness spread by the COVID-19 pandemic'.

Nagarjuna shared a picture of himself with Amala and Akhil Akkineni holding candles in support of Modi's initiative and wrote, “Driving the darkness away!”

Chiranjeevi too shared a few pictures and posted a video of his kith and kin lighting diyas at his home. In a similar vein, celebrities like Mahesh Babu, Pawan Kalyan, Allu Arjun, Gopichand, Boyapati Srinu, Anil Ravipudi, Tamannaah Bhatia and Lavanya Tripathi among others were seen taking part in the initiative by turning off the lights for nine minutes on Sunday.

The 24 crafts of Telugu cinema have also come forward with an initiative CCC (Corona Crisis Charity) Mana Kosam to offer financial assistance and provide essentials to the daily wage workers and other lower-income groups who are affected by the lockdown.