Allu Arjun drew criticism for his comments on the theater stampede

Hyderabad

Actor Allu Arjun has slammed political leaders for his comments at a press conference in the city on Saturday after Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy called the film fraternity ‘inhuman’ in the assembly the same day.

Congress leaders, including MPs Chamla Kiran Kumar Reddy and Anil Kumar Yadav, and MLC Balamoor Venkat accused the actor of lacking clarity and empathy in his response and asked him to be a ‘real hero’.

“We expected Allu Arjun to deliver a meaningful message to the public, but his comments seemed scripted,” said Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy. “The actor prioritized box office collections over public safety,” he said and asked him to be a role model both on and off screen.

Highlighting the government’s decision to hike ticket prices to compensate for the production losses, Mr. Kiran Kumar noted that CM and Cinematography Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy would like such events in future. There was a need to stop and regulate profit shows.

Mr. Venkat echoed similar sentiments. “You claim to bring pride to the Telugu people, but when lives are lost, sympathy and support for the victim’s family is paramount,” he said, asking the actor to introspect and reconsider his statements.

“Even though you know what happened, you still celebrate. What message does this send to the society?” he asked. It is the responsibility of celebrities to inspire positive change, he said.

Meanwhile, in a press conference on Sunday, Yadav said that the Chief Minister had presented the facts of the incident and denied the allegation of character assassination of Allu Arjun.

“The Chief Minister spoke to prevent such incidents from happening again. Artists are considered role models by the society, especially the youth. Movies should convey a message that is beneficial to the society. Why don’t they make a movie to raise public awareness about the side effects of drugs? If BRS MLA KT Rama Rao is supporting Allu Arjun, why didn’t he meet the victim’s family? BJP leader Bandi Sanjay Kumar also supported the actor and claimed that the Chief Minister has hurt the film industry. If that was true, the government would not have allowed ticket prices to increase or profit shows would have been allowed,” he said.

CPI leader K. Narayan alleged that Allu Arjun’s films glorified illegal activities and used objectionable content. “Instead of making toxic movies, focus on projects that contribute positively to society,” Mr. Narayan said in a video message.