Pawan Kalyan speaks out on Pushpa 2 stampede incident: 'Unfair to Blame Allu Arjun Alone'

Actor and Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Pawan Kalyan, has addressed the tragic stampede incident during the premiere of Allu Arjun's latest film, Pushpa 2: The Rule, which resulted in the death of a woman named Revathi.

On December 4, a stampede occurred at the Sandhya Theatre in Hyderabad, where fans were eager to catch a glimpse of Allu Arjun. This unfortunate incident led to the death of Revathi and injury to her eight-year-old son. Allu Arjun was arrested on December 13 in connection to this incident but was granted interim bail by the Telangana High Court the next day.

During a press conference in Mangalagiri, Pawan Kalyan shared his thoughts on the matter. He emphasized the importance of law and public safety, stating, “The law is equal for all, and I do not blame the police in such incidents, they act with public safety in mind. That said, the theater staff should have informed Allu Arjun earlier about any issues. Once he sat in the seat, they should have instructed him to vacate it if necessary. It would have been better if someone had visited the victim's family earlier on behalf of Allu Arjun. Revathi's death in this incident has deeply shocked me. They turned what was already lost into an even greater tragedy.”

Pawan Kalyan also highlighted the need for empathy and immediate support for the victim's family. “We should have conveyed earlier that we are all here to support the family. There should have been a sense of regret for the mistake, even if it happened without their direct involvement. There is a clear lack of humanity in this matter. Everyone should have gone to Revathi's house to offer reassurance and condolences. The people's anger stems from the absence of such a gesture. Arjun, too, feels the pain of knowing that someone lost their life because of this incident. It is not fair to make Allu Arjun solely responsible for the incident.”

He praised Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy for his appropriate response to the incident and recalled how even Chiranjeevi used to watch movies with his fans, or occasionally wear a mask to go to the theater alone.

Allu Arjun appeared virtually before a local court on Friday, and trade analyst Manobala Vijayabalan revealed on his X (formerly Twitter) handle that the bail hearing has been postponed to January 3.

This incident has sparked a broader discussion about crowd management and safety measures at large public events, emphasizing the need for better protocols to prevent such tragedies in the future.