Hyderabad: Allu Arjun, a renowned Southern actor, has drawn a fiery debate on whether he should be blamed for the Hyderabad theatre tragedy, which unfortunately resulted in a woman’s death. Although the High Court has granted him the interim bail, he still has to confront a string of legal and political challenges due to the incident.
On Tuesday, Allu Arjun reported again to the police after an order was issued by the Hyderabad Police. The authorities are going on with the investigation on the night of the event, which is 4 December. The police are closely examining the security standards and the proper permits acquired for the event and the roadshow that followed.
Allu Arjun has been given interim bail by the High Court; however, the actor continues to be trapped in the web of police questioning and political issues. The focus of the law has been on the “Pushpa” actor, igniting talks on whether he has attracted detractors because of his stardom. The hotly debated issue here is how can a performer or an icon, who isn’t hand-in-hand with the event organiser, be the one who is responsible for a stampede?
According to the cinematic world, Allu Arjun’s character, Pushpa, is the one who stands against the police rules and who doesn’t want to be under anyone’s authority, make his own rules, and occupy a parallel position to the government. On the other hand, the actor has been a symbol of patience and endurance in dealing with the Sandhya Theatre case. He has been careful with the media, stating that he has no connection with politics and calling on his supporters to be peaceful and not react to provocations. As a matter of fact, he fully respects the law and has done all he could to help.
On 4 December, only a day before the cinema showing of “Pushpa” in Hyderabad, the place was packed; the media reports say that people gathered to watch a preview show of the movie that would soon be released. The film star Allu Arjun’s name on the bill of the paid preview introduction to the movie also made it a live crowd magnet. The entrance of the film’s star caused the gathering fans to erupt into chaos. Some of the fans ended up hurting a woman in a stampede who was with her two children. The mother died, and the son was hospitalised following the incident.
The family’s allegation got Allu Arjun arrested on 13 December. The court sent him into judicial custody for 14 days before he was released from custody on the same day with the High Court granting him interim bail. The relevant question to be asked here is why Allu Arjun is the one who bears the entire blame. At the same time, as a star participating in the event, it is typically the event organisers and the police that bear the responsibility for the arrangements and safety measures.
If they were pushing through the crowd just to see him, then why did the police beat the lathi? Did they really think that such an action would not worsen the situation? Maybe the police could have avoided lathi-charging the crowd, which resulted in a stampede and a subsequent death, if they had better managed the crowd, and Allu Arjun would not have to deal with the present fallout. After the incident, a crowd of people came over on Sunday and threw stones at Allu Arjun’s house, which resulted in the police arresting 10 individuals.
Throughout this whole experience, Allu Arjun has shown great empathy, standing behind the police, the court, and the legal process. He has steered clear of politics and helped the family that lost a member in the incident financially. Besides, the producers of Pushpa also provided financial support to the concerned family. However, the present scenario indicates that Allu Arjun’s factor is still here, seemingly far from over.