Jr NTR's Devara: Part 1 is set to hit theatres on September 27. Ahead of the release, the makers organised an event in Hyderabad on Sunday. Unfortunately, the event could not proceed as planned. The turnout exceeded the capacity of the venue, leading to the cancellation of the pre-release event. Jr NTR was advised against attending the event because of the massive crowd of fans trying to access the auditorium from all directions. Filmmaker Trivikram Srinivas, who was also slated to be the chief guest, had to turn back as well, as reported by Pinkvilla.
Following the cancellation of the event, Jr NTR expressed that he is “deeply saddened.” In a video posted by the makers on X (formerly Twitter), he spoke in Telugu. His message roughly translates to: “I am deeply saddened that Devara's event has been cancelled, especially because I was looking forward to it so much. I enjoy spending time with you and sharing many interesting details about Devara. I was excited to share many details about Devara and explain the efforts put into the film. But, the event couldn't happen due to security reasons. I share your disappointment. My pain is more than yours. In my opinion, it is wrong to blame the producers or organisers for the cancellation of the event.”
Many infuriated fans shared posts on X (formerly Twitter) to express their disappointment.
A person posted a video of the venue, announcing that the event had been "cancelled."
Another pointed out that there were 15,000 fans at a venue that could only accommodate 5,000. They called it the “worst decision by producers...and event Organizers.”
A few highlighted how there was “too much delay.”
A fan shared a video and noted that even after an hour of the cancellation, no one was leaving the venue.
Directed by Koratala Siva, Devara: Part 1 features Janhvi Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan in significant roles. The film is produced by Sudhakar Mikkilineni and Kosaraju Harikrishna under their banners Yuvasudha Arts and NTR Arts.
Earlier, the director and cast of Devara: Part 1 had an interaction with filmmaker Sandeep Reddy Vanga. During the conversation, Jr NTR mentioned that the shooting schedule included 30 to 35 days of underwater sequences. The actor said, “We had one option of shooting it in Kapoli because that was one of the biggest pools we had. And then, for some strange reason we decided to overspend and create a pool in the studio, in which we were shooting for predominantly our action sequences. It was a massive pool because we shot for about 30-35 odd days underwater. Underwater, over the water, underwater, over the water. That is a phenomenal episode…It is one of the most key sequences of Devara. And again, we are speaking about a world which is in the coastal regions of India. So, we really had a lot of water elements. Shoot on water, shoot in water.”
Devara: Part 1 marks the Telugu debut of Janhvi Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan. The film will be screened in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada.