During a function celebrating the success of ‘Pushpa 2: The Rule’, Allu Arjun reportedly made some critical remarks against the Telangana chief minister.
Published Dec 15, 2024 | 12:35 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 15, 2024 | 5:42 PM
Revanth Reddy and Allu Arjun.
Two days after the sensational arrest of national award-winning actor Allu Arjun, the reasons behind it appear to be more than just the case booked against him for the stampede at Sandhya Theatre in the Telangana capital.
The incident on 4 December left a woman, Revathi, dead. Her son is still in a coma while the family waits for his recovery in agony.
Those in full knowledge of what transpired at the highest level told South First that multiple reasons were behind the decision to arrest the actor, which attracted both positive and negative reactions.
While some saw it as an extreme reaction, others pointed out that none cared to discuss the loss of human life but were worried about the actor being arrested.
At a broad level, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is said to have been angry that nobody from the Allu Arjun family even bothered to visit the hospital where the injured boy has been staying in a coma for more than 10 days.
“Merely announcing a solatium of ₹25 lakh means what? Is it the price they have calculated for the dead woman? Where is the empathy?” Revanth Reddy seems to have asked.
In line with this thought, the chief minister remarked in a television interview as to who would provide the answer if the boy came out of the coma and realised that the mother was no more.
What also severely irked Revanth Reddy, sources revealed, was Allu Arjun’s conduct at a function held to celebrate the success of Pushpa 2: The Rise.
While thanking the two Telugu state governments for agreeing to enhance ticket prices, he named Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan (Arjun’s kin) but kept mumbling when it came to Telangana Chief Minister prompting those in the audience to remind the actor it was Revanth Reddy.
Allu Arjun’s wife is a relative of Revanth Reddy and yet the actor forgot or pretended to have forgotten the chief minister’s name.
Now, the primary reason. At the same function, during private conversations with some of those present, Allu Arjun reportedly passed disparaging comments against Revanth Reddy.
Those comments reached Revanth Reddy’s ears in no time. Arjun either did not expect his comments to be conveyed to the chief minister or overestimated his stature and didn’t care even if they did. Nobody seems to have been able to read Revanth Reddy’s mind.
Allu Arjun’s arrest was perfectly timed. The chief minister was off to Delhi for multiple engagements and largely inaccessible for anyone to even try to reach him. Sources suggest that nobody in the government was aware that the actor would be arrested. Only a few top police officials knew.
Hours later, Revanth confirmed that the arrest happened with his full knowledge and justified the arrest on multiple grounds, stressing that “film or political stars” are not beyond the law.
“He could have quietly gone into the theatre and watched the film. Where was the need to stand in an open-top vehicle that led to commotion and stampede, leading to the loss of precious life?” the chief minister questioned.
Interestingly, Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan has chosen not to react to the arrest so far, despite being Arjun’s kin.
It may be noted that, in the recent past, Pawan Kalyan did not hide his displeasure over Arjun donning the role of a red sandal smuggler in Pushpa I: The Rise, and wondered whether one who called himself a “hero” should accept such a role.
There were reports that Pawan Kalyan was flying to Hyderabad soon after discovering about the arrest on Friday but preferred not to — probably after he was given a full brief.
Those in the film industry — known to bask in the illusion, rather a belief, that they could get away with anything (and they did for a long time) — seem to be realising that Revanth Reddy is not someone they could mess around and that filmy stuff is different from real life.
Read this with the situation when actor Nagarjuna, a few months ago, remained helpless as government officials pulled down a massive function hall belonging to him, citing violations. Incidentally, both Allu Arjun and Nagarjuna are seen as being close to YSRCP’s Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Fall in line, is the message.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil with inputs from R Prithviraj.)
