Pushpa-2 team could’ve responded to Hyderabad theatre stampede incident better, says Pawan Kalyan

The team of Pushpa-2 could have responded in a better way to the stampede at the movie’s premiere which resulted in the death of a woman and the hospitalisation of her son in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan said, breaking his silence on the issue almost a month after the incident occurred.

The team of Pushpa-2 could have responded in a better way to the stampede at the movie’s premiere which resulted in the death of a woman and the hospitalisation of her son in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan said, breaking his silence on the issue almost a month after the incident occurred.

“A quicker and more humanitarian approach towards the victim’s family could have averted the rupture,” he said.

The December 4 stampede at the movie’s premiere, which was attended by Allu Arjun, claimed the life of Revathi, 35, and left her nine-year-old son comatose in a hospital. A case was registered which led to the arrest of Allu Arjun, who subsequently spent one night at the Chanchalguda jail.

Speaking about the incident in a media interaction at the JSP camp office on Monday, Mr. Pawan Kalyan said: “The stampede, resulting in Revathi’s death and the child’s hospitalisation, was quite unfortunate. The entire team could have visited the victim’s family immediately after the incident, or on the next day, empathised with them and stood by them. Instead, Allu Arjun was singled out and was expected to take the entire blame and responsibility, which was not fair. The series of developments and improper response blew the issue out of proportion.”

Referring to the first-of-its-kind arrest of Allu Arjun and prompt action by the Revanth Reddy government in Telangana, Mr. Pawan Kalyan said, “That is Revanth Reddy. He was just following the developments and responding within the legal framework. Law is the same for all, nobody is an exception. It cannot be seen as a vindictive act as the same movie was allowed to go for benefit shows with enhanced ticket prices that fetched huge collections in Telangana.”

Hailing Mr. Revanth Reddy as a ‘straight-forward man’ who came up through hard work, Mr. Pawan Kalyan said the Telangana Chief Minister grew up together with most of the contemporary actors. “Many actors, Allu Arjun, Rana (Daggubati) and others are neighbours to Mr. Revanth Reddy. He must be super senior to them. There is no reason for him to be unhappy about seeing known people emerging as stars or heroes,” he said.