Mumbai: The Sandhya theatre stampede case has been in news for almost a month because of its connection with popular actor Allu Arjun.
While the Telangana government and police alleged that the actor’s irresponsible behaviour led to the stampede and death of a woman, fans and bigwigs of the film industry believe Allu is not responsible for the tragic incident.
Filmmaker Boney Kapoor has come out in support of Allu, stating that expensive tickets for the first day show of ‘Pushpa 2: The Rule’ led to the stampede.
“Ticket rates are inflated on the first two days or at least the first day for extra shows. That is why this situation has arisen where unnecessarily Allu Arjun was dragged and blamed for the death of a fan. It was only because of the crowd that had gathered to see the film,” said Boney while speaking at the Galatta Plus roundtable for filmmakers.
“When I first saw Ajith’s film releasing at 1 in the morning. I was shocked to see 20-25,000 people outside the theatre. After I came out of the show around 3.30-4 am, there were still that many people outside. I am told the same thing happens with films of Rajinikanth, Chiranjeevi, or present-day stars like Jr NTR, Ram Charan, Mahesh Babu,” Boney added while explaining south Indian fans’ craze for big stars.
On December 4, a special premiere of ‘Pushpa 2’ was arranged at Sandhya theatres in Hyderabad, where the film’s lead actor Allu Arjun paid a surprise visit to watch his movie with fans.
The crowd went berserk to catch a glimpse of Allu, leading to a stampede which left 35-year-old Revathi dead and her minor son critically injured.
The Telangana government claimed that the actor visited the theatre despite being denied police permission and refused to leave even after being informed of the unfortunate incident. However, Allu has denied those allegations.
He was arrested on December 13 on charges of culpable homicide, but released the day after on being granted interim bail by Telangana High Court.
Directed by Sukumar, ‘Pushpa 2: The Rule’ has collected ₹1760 crore worldwide, making it the third-highest-grossing Indian film ever.
