Pushpa 2 recorded unparalleled success at the box office last year. But it came at the cost of a tragic death.
On December 4, 2024, there was a stampede at Hyderabad's Sandhya Theatre, which resulted in the death of a 35-year-old woman, and her son was admitted to the ICU. The reason cited was the surprise visit by Pushpa 2 actor Allu Arjun that made the crowd go into a frenzy.
Bollywood producer Boney Kapoor has now reacted to the incident amid the ongoing case, stating that the tragedy took place because of the uncontrolled crowd. He added that Allu Arjun was dragged into it unnecessarily.
The conversation started with Kapoor talking about the craze that the audience has for larger-than-life South Indian stars.
At the recently held Galatta Plus Roundtable for Filmmakers, he addressed the trend, "When I first saw Ajith's film releasing at 1 in the morning, I was shocked to see 20-25,000 people outside the theatre. After I came out of the show around 3.30-4 am, there were still that many people outside. I am told the same thing happens with films of Rajinikanth, Chiranjeevi, or present-day stars like Jr NTR, Ram Charan, and Mahesh Babu."
He then linked it to the Allu Arjun controversy, in light of the stampede.
He said, "Ticket rates are inflated on the first two days or at least the first day, for extra shows. That is why this situation has arisen, where, unnecessarily, Allu Arjun was dragged and blamed for the death of a fan. It was only because of the crowd that had gathered to see the film."
According to an Indian Express report, the Telangana Police had mentioned that Allu Arjun had come to the theatre unannounced, with his wife Sneha Reddy and Pushpa 2 co-star Rashmika Mandanna.
He had allegedly refused to leave the premises, despite the situation. The Pushpa 2 actor has, however, denied all such allegations.
Allu Arjun was arrested last month under Sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 118(1) (punishment for causing hurt).
He was granted an interim bail the next day by the Telangana High Court. An investigation into the case is underway.
The movie, Pushpa 2, meanwhile, has recorded an astounding collection of Rs 1,760 crore as of January 1, 2025.