Top names in the Telugu film industry, including producer and Allu Arjun’s father, Allu Arvind, will take part in a crucial meeting with Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on Thursday amid the row over the Pushpa 2 stampede case. Telangana Film Development Corporation (FDC) chairperson and popular producer Dil Raju said the meeting with Revanth Reddy was to foster “healthy relations” between the government and the industry.
This comes days after Allu Arjun’s dramatic arrest and his subsequent bail in the Sandhya theatre stampede case, which left one woman dead and her son injured. In recent days, Revanth Reddy has taken digs at celebrities and the government has also announced that it would not give permission for benefit shows and hike ticket rates.
The tentative list of celebrities includes producers Allu Aravind, Suresh Daggubati, Sunil Narang, Supriya, Naga Vamshi, and Pushpa 2 producers Naveen Yerneni and Ravi Shankar. Actors Venkatesh Daggubati, Nithiin, Varun Tej, Siddhu Jonnalagadda, Kiran Abbavaram and Shiva Balaji are likely to attend.
After the death of a 35-year-old Revathi during Pushpa 2 screening, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy slammed the Telugu film industry for lining up at Allu Arjun’s house after his release from prison. He lashed out at the celebrities for not thinking about Revathi and her critically-ill son, Sri Tej, who is in hospital.
Following the incident, Cinematography minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy mentioned that the government may consider ticket price hikes only for certain films that showcase history, freedom struggle and take an anti-drug stand. If this is implemented, it will have a huge impact on Sankranti releases – Ram Charan’s Game Changer, Nandamuri Balakrishna’s Daaku Maharaj and Venkatesh’s Sankranthiki Vasthunnam. Producers rely on these price hikes to reap in benefits during the opening weekend.
