Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has strongly condemned the arrest of actor Allu Arjun in connection with the stampede that occurred during the premiere of Pushpa 2: The Rule in Hyderabad. He has called upon all the celebrities to unite and speak up against his arrest. Also read: Allu Aravind visits Pushpa 2 premiere stampede victim in hospital; says this about Allu Arjun’s absence
On December 13, Arjun was arrested by the Chikkadapally Police and held overnight at Chanchalaguda Central Jail. He was released from the jail the next day.
Ram Gopal Varma urges
The filmmaker took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to express his views and urge the stars to come together and protest against his arrest.
“Every STAR should STRONGLY protest against @alluarjun‘s ARREST because for any celebrity whether it’s a FILM STAR or a POLITICAL STAR , is it a crime for them to be ENORMOUSLY POPULAR???” he wrote.
Through his post, the filmmaker also picked an incident during the filming of Sridevi-starrer Kshana Kshanam as an example.
Ram shared, “3 people died in the lakhs of crowd who came to see SRIDEVI in the shooting of my film KSHANA KSHANAM ..So will the #TelanganaPolice now go to #HEAVEN to ARREST #sridevi ???”
Kshana Kshanam is a 1991 Telugu comedy heist film written and directed by Ram Gopal Varma. The film stars Venkatesh, Sridevi, Paresh Rawal, and Rami Reddy.
Ram’s views left social media users with divided opinions. “I agree with RGV on this,” wrote one user, with another mentioning, “It’s a complex situation. Celebrities do influence crowds, but the management of such large gatherings should be a shared responsibility. Hopefully, this incident leads to better safety protocols for all”.
“Always correct #RGV Sir mind,” wrote one user, with another sharing, “It’s wild how popularity can lead to such chaos. Celebrating talent should be safe for everyone”.
About the incident
On December 4, Allu Arjun visited Sandhya Theatre in Hyderabad along with his wife Sneha Reddy and his Pushpa 2 co-star Rashmika Mandanna. The actor’s presence drew an enormous crowd, which eventually led to a chaotic stampede-like situation. The situation at the premiere resulted in the death of a woman and the hospitalisation of her young son.
The police took action by filing an FIR against Allu Arjun and the theatre management, citing that they had not been informed about the actor’s visit in advance.
On December 13, Arjun was arrested from his home. He was held overnight at Chanchalaguda Central Jail. After the Nampally Court sent him to a 14-day remand, the Telangana High Court granted him a 4-week interim bail.
Recently, the actor broke his silence on why he hasn’t visited the stampede victim in hospital through a note on Instagram.
“I remain deeply concerned about young Sri Tej, who is under constant medical care after the unfortunate incident,” he wrote in his note, adding, “Due to the ongoing legal proceedings, I have been advised not to visit him and his family at this time. My prayers remain with them and I remain committed to taking responsibility for addressing the medical and family needs”.