VIJAYAWADA/HYDERABAD: Expressing his anguish over the death of a woman in the stampede at Sandhya Theatre in Hyderabad on December 4 during the premiere of Pushpa-2, Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan said, “The tragic incident shook me. However, it seems that Allu Arjun has been left alone to face it.”
During an informal interaction with mediapersons at the JSP office on Monday, Pawan criticized the lack of proper communication from the theatre management, suggesting that it should have informed Arjun immediately after the tragedy. He further remarked, “The law is equal for all. It would have been better if someone from the Pushpa team, either the producer or director, had visited the family of the deceased soon after the incident to offer support. An issue that could have been resolved easily has now turned complicated. As a team, we should stand by the victims.”
Addressing rumors that the Telangana government had targeted Arjun because he ‘forgot’ the Chief Minister’s name at a promotional event, Pawan asserted that spreading such misinformation was inappropriate. “Revanth has risen through the ranks to become the Chief Minister,” he observed.
“If I were in his position, I would have done the same,” Pawan Kalyan added.
The Deputy CM also appreciated Telangana’s film policies, particularly the decision to permit ticket price hikes for big-budget movies, contrasting it with the restrictive policies introduced by the previous YSRCP regime in Andhra Pradesh, which aimed to stifle the Telugu film industry.