Allu Arjun and director Sukumar spoke to the press on Saturday evening to celebrate the success of Pushpa 2: The Rule. During the event, they also took a moment to address the tragedy that occurred during the film’s premiere on December 4 in Hyderabad, where a female fan died in a stampede. They expressed their condolences to the family of the deceased.
Sukumar began by thanking his entire team for making Pushpa 2: The Rule a success. However, towards the end of his speech, he said, “I have worked for over 6 years on this film, but I’ve not been happy for 3 days now because a director is always sensitive. Irrespective of me working for 3 years or 6 years, I cannot create a life. My heart is broken due to what happened. I am very sorry for that…I apologise to the family and assure you, we will always support you.”
Arjun also thanked the audience worldwide for the film’s success and expressed gratitude to the governments of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for allowing the ticket price hike and holding premieres. He added, “We are extremely sorry. We genuinely didn’t know what happened. I’ve been doing this for 20 years (going to theatres on opening day); it’s very unfortunate that this happened.”
Arjun clarified that he did not leave the theatre midway through the film after learning about the fan’s death. Instead, he said the management asked him to leave due to disruptions. “I watched the film and left midway because management told me it was causing issues. We only found out the next day that Revathi had died; I was shocked,” he said.
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He also explained why it took him 48 hours to respond publicly, saying, “It took me time to respond psychologically…I want to stabilise and come back to the table; it takes me time to process. When we heard what happened, we all blanked out. Sukumar garu became really emotional; all our energies went down.”
Arjun repeated his earlier sentiment from the video he released on Friday night, stating, “The money I’ve given (Rs 25 lakh) is only a gesture to show we’re there for them. I don’t want to disturb them; I’m giving them their space. I will never be able to help with their loss, but I will meet them once they recover. I’ll help them in whatever way I can.”
When the incident first made headlines and a video surfaced showing Arjun leaving Sandhya Theatre midway, some assumed he had left because he had learned of the fan’s death. Later, he faced criticism for not addressing the issue sooner, even though his team had reached out to the family with monetary help. When he later posted a video offering condolences, people criticized him for not directly apologizing to the family and taking accountability for the tragedy.
Arjun had visited the theatre on December 4 with his wife, Allu Sneha Reddy, and co-star Rashmika Mandanna, when the stampede occurred. A woman and her young son were injured in the chaos. The woman later died, while her son was hospitalized in critical condition. The police have filed a case against Arjun, his security team, and the theatre management following a complaint from the victim’s family.