Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has voiced his support for Telugu star Allu Arjun following his recent arrest, which came after a tragic stampede during the Hyderabad premiere of Pushpa 2: The Rule. The incident at Sandhya Theatre claimed the life of a female fan and left several others injured. Criticizing the arrest, Varma called it unjust and urged actors to protest against holding celebrities accountable for the consequences of their popularity.
In a series of posts on his X account (formerly Twitter), Varma defended Arjun, questioning whether being immensely popular is a crime. He wrote, “Every STAR should STRONGLY protest against @alluarjun’s ARREST… is it a crime for them to be ENORMOUSLY POPULAR??” Drawing a comparison to a similar tragedy, Varma recalled an incident during the filming of his movie Kshana Kshanam with Sridevi, where a massive crowd resulted in the deaths of three fans. He sarcastically questioned whether the police would now arrest the late actress in heaven for that incident.
TAKE A LOOK AT THE VIRAL POST:
Every STAR should STRONGLY protest against @alluarjun ‘s ARREST because for any celebrity whether it’s a FILM STAR or a POLITICAL STAR , is it a crime for them to be ENORMOUSLY POPULAR???
3 people died in the lakhs of crowd who came to see SRIDEVI in the shooting of my film…
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) December 19, 2024
Allu Arjun was arrested on December 13 for allegedly failing, along with the theatre management, to inform authorities about his visit, leading to the stampede. He spent a night in Chanchalguda Central Jail before the Telangana High Court granted him four weeks of interim bail. Initially, Arjun had been placed under a 14-day judicial remand.
In response to the tragedy, Allu Arjun pledged Rs. 25 lakh to the family of the deceased fan. His father, producer Allu Aravind, also visited an injured boy on a ventilator and assured the media that his condition was improving.
