Sandhya Theatre stampede: Pushpa team should have met victim’s family sooner, avoided escalation: Pawan Kalyan

Amaravati: Days after the Sandhya Theatre stampede, during the premiere of Pushpa 2 in Hyderabad, caused the death of a woman and grievous injury to her son, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan said the makers of the Allu Arjun-starrer should have reached out to the family of the woman sooner.

A 35-year-old woman was killed in the stampede and her eight-year-old son was seriously injured on December 4 at RTC Crossroads when they went to watch the movie.

On Monday, addressing the media, the Deputy CM said a gesture like this could have averted the situation from spiralling out of control and the ‘mountain being made out of a molehill.’

What they (movie makers) could have done is gone to the victim’s home the very next day. The producers, director or anyone from the team should have expressed their condolences and shown they are with the family in their grief. Had they done this, it wouldn’t have escalated like this, said Kalyan.

“The staff should have told Allu Arjun about this before. After he went and sat down, they should have told him about the incident", said Pawan Kalyan

‘Law doesn’t give preferential treatment’

Following the incident, Arjun was briefly arrested by the Hyderabad police, and a major controversy ensued. During his arrest, Pawan Kalyan also visited Hyderabad to see Allu Arjun.

Responding to the arrest, Pawan Kalyan said, "Even if it is me, he would have done the same thing without a doubt, that is Revanth Reddy. It is not who you are, but what happened through you. And sometimes it is that, you want to send a message."

"Some are saying that the Telangana government should have gone soft, but the law should not give preferential treatment to anyone. That's what the law says," said Kalyan, adding that law does not care how popular or powerful a person is.

According to Kalyan, Telangana CM A Revanth Reddy has always stood by the Telugu film industry and for this particular movie, he approved benefits shows and hiking ticket prices. However, Kalyan said Reddy had to take a 'tough call' and he took that call and highlighted that if a case had been filed against him (Kalyan), he cannot simply quash it by virtue of being the Deputy Chief Minister as the system would take it over.

Terming the woman’s death and hospitalisation of her son as ‘a very painful episode’, Pawan Kalyan said the deceased woman and her family wanted to have a nice evening, return home and share the experience, but it ended tragically.

Noting that blaming the hero (Arjun) alone is not right, Kalyan said that when the cinema was made as a team, then the problem should also be tackled as a team. "But what happened was that the entire blame was pushed on the hero, making him the lonely target. I didn't find that correct. During the later consequences, no one has guided them well and once a case has been filed, you don't question the police," he said

Pawan Kalyan recalled how his brother, actor Chiranjeevi, would go to the theatre incognito. “Chiranjeevi used to go to the theatre alone wearing a mask. There were times when I went like that, too,” he said.

CM Revanth blamed Allu Arjun and theatre

Earlier, Telangana CM A Revanth Reddy addressed the incident in the Assembly earlier in the day, accusing Allu Arjun of negligence. Reddy claimed that authorities had denied permission for the actor’s visit due to safety concerns, but the actor allegedly arrived in a roadshow-style procession, causing chaos. “Revathi, a member of the audience, got separated from her child. Tragically, she lost her life while trying to reach her son, who is now in critical condition,” the CM said.

Revanth Reddy alleged that theatre management initially obstructed police efforts to manage the crowd and claimed the actor conducted a roadshow after exiting the venue, further worsening the situation. “What loss did Allu Arjun suffer? Why are people showing such sympathy for him while ignoring a child struggling for his life in the hospital?” Reddy questioned.

Following widespread criticism over the stampede, Allu Arjun refuted allegations of negligence and clarified misinformation circulating about the incident.

“It is an unfortunate incident and genuinely speaking, nobody is at fault,” Arjun said. “I genuinely think that nobody should be blamed and I am not here to blame anybody or to blame any department or the government. I am actually thankful to the government because they have been very supportive of the film industry.” The actor dismissed claims that he had visited the venue without prior permission. “It is absolutely false information that I have visited Sandhya Theatre without permission. When I visited the theatre, the police were clearing the crowd. Therefore, it is clear that everything is sorted. If there is no permission, they could have told us, and I would have gone back,” he stated.