‘It’s humiliating…’ says Allu Arjun amid allegations over Sandhya Theatre tragedy

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], December 21 (ANI): Telugu superstar Allu Arjun has responded to allegations holding him responsible for the Sandhya Theatre tragedy during the premiere of his movie 'Pushpa 2: The Rule.'
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday evening, the Pushpa actor called the incident "very unfortunate" and said there was "a lot of misinformation" and "character assassination" against him.
'It is a very unfortunate incident. It is completely an accident. My condolences to the family. I am taking updates every hour about the condition of the child (hospitalised). His condition is improving, it is very good. There is a lot of misinformation, false allegations are being made. I don't want to blame any department or politician. My character is being assassinated,'" Arjun told the media on the December 4's Sandhya Theatre stampede in which a woman was killed and her child was injured.
"I'm getting hourly updates about what's happening with the kid, I'm updated about what's happening to Sri Tej. The good thing is, he's moving, he's progressing, he's good. The good thing happening in all these mishaps is, he's moving and that is good," Arjun added.
Responding to allegations made by some politicians, Arjun said, "I am not blaming anyone. There is a lot of misinformation and false allegations due to miscommunication. I don't want to blame any department, or any political leader or the government. I am very happy with the government as they gave a ticket price hike. I just want to address that there is a lot of misinformation about what I did that day."
"It's humiliating and character assassination. You have been seeing me for the past 20 years--can I ever speak or behave like that? There is a lot of wrong information and character assassination. I did a cinema, it was a huge success, but for the past 15 days, I've been sitting here all alone without attending functions or events. I worked hard for a movie for three years, but I haven't watched the movie in the theatre. Watching a movie is a learning curve for me. But sitting alone for the past 15 days, consoling myself that I don't have direct involvement in what happened. I extremely apologise for what happened," the actor said.
Earlier in the day, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy alleged in the Assembly that the police had denied permission for any event at Sandhya Theatre due to safety concerns. However, despite the warning, Allu Arjun attended the premiere and created chaos by climbing onto his "car roof" and doing a roadshow at RTC X road.
"Akbaruddin Owaisi submitted a request to the Chikkadpally police station on 2nd December to make arrangements for the cast and crew of Pushpa 2 coming to Sandhya Theatre for the film's release on 4th December. On 3rd December, the Chikkadpally Circle Inspector gave a written reply rejecting the request, citing that since the theatre is in a crowded place and has only one exit and entry point, the police will not be able to control (any bad situation)..." he said.
He further added, "Yet, the hero came to watch the movie the next day and got out of the car roof, doing a roadshow at the RTC X road. (After the stampede) The ACP went to ask the hero to leave to gain control of the mob. At first, the actor refused, saying that he would leave after finishing the movie. Then the DCP had to intervene, asking the hero to leave or he would be arrested as two people had already fallen outside... Even while leaving, he again came out of the roof and did a roadshow..."
AIMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi also criticised Telugu superstar Allu Arjun over the Sandhya Theatre tragedy, and alleged that the actor showed "irresponsible behaviour" during the screening of his movie Pushpa 2, which led to the death of a woman.
On December 4, Allu Arjun attended the premiere of his movie 'Pushpa 2: The Rule'. A massive crowd gathered to catch a glimpse of the star. The situation escalated when Arjun waved to fans from the sunroof of his vehicle, leading to the death of a woman named Revathi life in the chaos.
Following the incident, Allu Arjun was arrested but was released the next day after being granted bail by the Telangana High Court on furnishing a Rs 50,000 bond.
Meanwhile, Allu Arjun's latest release, 'Pushpa 2: The Rule', directed by Sukumar and co-starring Rashmika Mandanna and Fahadh Faasil, is currently breaking box office records. (ANI)