Amaravati: Law is equal for all, said Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan on Monday in his first reaction to the stampede at Hyderabad’s Sandhya Theatre which claimed the life of a woman during the premier show of ‘Pushpa 2: The Rule’, and the subsequent arrest of actor Allu Arjun
The actor-politician feels that police can’t be blamed as they act keeping safety and security in mind.
In an informal chat with reporters, the Jana Sena leader said that the theatre staff should have informed Allu Arjun in advance about the situation.
Pawan Kalyan was also of the opinion that if somebody from Allu Arjun’s side had reached out to the family of the victim immediately, this could have eased the tension and helped resolve the issue.
This was the first reaction of Pawan Kalyan to the December 4 incident that had led to the death of a woman and left her son critically injured.
The police had booked the theatre management, Allu Arjun and his team for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
The actor was arrested on December 13 and remanded to judicial custody for 14 days by a court. The Telangana High Court granted him interim bail the same day.
Allu Arjun is son of producer Allu Arvind, brother-in-law of Pawan Kalyan’s elder brother megastar Chiranjeevi.
Pawan Kalyan mentioned that in the past, even Chiranjeevi used to attend movie screenings with his fans, but he often wore a mask to avoid creating a stir.
Defending Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on the issue, Pawan Kalyan described him as a leader who has risen from humble beginnings.
Commenting on Telangana CM Revanth Reddy, Pawan said, “Revanth Reddy is a great leader. He came up from a humble beginning. He didn’t do like YSRCP. He allowed benefit shows and permitted increases in ticket prices. The collections of movies rose with his cooperation,” he said.
The Deputy Chief Minister said movies like ‘Salar’ and ‘Pushpa 2’ recorded huge collections. “CM Revanth extended full cooperation for ‘Pushpa 2’. Allowing increase in ticket prices also amounts to encouraging the film industry. In this case, I am not fully aware of what happened in front of or behind the scenes,” he added.
The actor-politician also refused to find fault with the police. “Law is equal for all. Police can’t be blamed in such incidents. They act keeping in mind the security. Theatre staff should have informed Allu Arjun in advance about the situation. When he had taken the seat, they should have informed him and escorted him out,” he said.
Pawan Kalyan also feels that it would have been better if someone from Allu Arjun’s side had reached out to the victim’s family. “They should have immediately assured the family that they will stand by them. They should have expressed regret over the incident that happened unintentionally. Somewhere the humane approach was missing in this case,” he said.
He believes that there was public anger after no one consoled the victim’s family. He also hastened to add that Allu Arjun too felt that a life was lost because of him.
“Cinema is a team work. It’s not correct to blame Allu Arjun alone. Revanth Reddy responded as the Chief Minister to the incident. Sometimes decisions are taken depending on the situation,” he added.
(IANS)
