NEW DELHI: Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy convened a meeting with prominent actors, filmmakers, and representatives of the Telugu film industry on Thursday to reinforce government’s stance of zero compromise on public safety, urging the Telugu film industry to act responsibly.
Reddy asserted that there will be no compromise on law and order in the meeting. The CM also said that celebrities must control their fans and the industry must be responsible, according to ANI sources.
The meeting, held at the Telangana State Police Command and Control Centre in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad, was held in an effort to address tensions between the state government and Tollywood.
The Tollywood delegation was led by Telangana Film Development Corporation (FDC) chairman Dil Raju and included renowned actors such as Nagarjuna, Varun Tej, Sai Dharam Tej, Kalyan Ram, Shiva Balaji, Adavi Sesh, Nithin, and Venkatesh. Acclaimed directors like Koratala Siva, Anil Ravipudi, K Raghavendra Rao, Prashanth Varma, Sai Rajesh, and producers including Suresh Babu, KL Narayana, Damodhar, Allu Aravind, BVSN Prasad, and Chinna Babu were also present.
The meeting gained significance in light of the arrest of Tollywood superstar Allu Arjun following a tragic stampede during the premiere of his film “Pushpa 2: The Rule” on December 4. The event, held at Sandhya Theatre in Hyderabad, drew an enormous crowd as fans gathered to see the actor. Chaos erupted when Allu Arjun waved to the fans from the sunroof of his car, leading to the death of a woman named Revathi and injuries to her child.
Allu Arjun was arrested and subsequently released on bail after furnishing a bond of Rs 50,000. He was also questioned by Hyderabad police earlier this week regarding the incident.
The tragedy sparked a political controversy, with CM Revanth Reddy blaming the actor during an Assembly session for disregarding police warnings against organizing events at Sandhya Theatre due to safety concerns.
The actor dismissed the allegations, describing them as an attempt at “character assassination.” The ongoing row has highlighted the need for accountability and cooperation between Tollywood and the state government to ensure public safety at events.