OPINION | Who has a score to settle with Allu Arjun?
The screen hero’s family had to send both his kids to safety from the back of the residence. In reel life, starstruck filmgoers fear the Pushpa-2 hero, but in real life, the star was fearing for the safety of his kids.
Being a superstar can at times prove costly. Allu Arjun is the latest example. This superstar from the South has now become a pawn in the chessboard of Telangana politics. On Sunday, some youths barged into his residence, threw tomatoes and broke flowerpots while shouting menacing slogans. The screen hero’s family had to send both his kids to safety from the back of the residence. In reel life, starstruck filmgoers fear the Pushpa-2 hero, but in real life, the star was fearing for the safety of his kids.
Allu Arjun is not in politics. He does not support any political party, but in Telangana, BRS and Congress have crossed swords over Allu Arjun. The two parties are blaming each other for the attack on the star’s residence. Hyderabad Police has arrested six persons, but surprisingly, all of them got bail immediately. This has roused suspicions about the possibility of political backing for these ruffians.
BRS leaders have alleged that Congress supporters, close to Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, attacked Allu’s residence, but Congress leaders say this is a clever game plan of BRS. Congress leaders allege, BRS leaders conspired to carry out this attack to fix blame on Congress. Since the state government is run by Congress and the police is investigating the matter, the question arises as to which are the political forces that are trying to target Allu Arjun? Who are the ones who want to teach Allu Arjun a lesson? The death of a woman during the Pushpa-2 premiere stampede is not a political issue. The matter is in court. The husband of the woman who died has publicly said, Allu Arjun was not responsible for this tragedy. Then why this attack on Allu Arjun’s residence?
Congress leaders allege that the ruffians who attacked Allu Arjun’s residence were linked to Osmania University Joint Action Committee which has connections with BRS. According to police, all the six persons arrested and later released on bail were students of Osmania University. But police did not disclose that Accused No. 1 was Reddy Srinivas, a resident of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s Vikarabad constituency. BRS leaders say, Reddy Srinivas had contested the Zilla Panchayat polls in 2019 on Congress ticket. Reddy Srinivas posted a video on December 4 on social media thanking senior party leaders for appointing him the district chief of Youth Congress. On Monday, Congress leaders also uploaded pics of Reddy Srinivas with BRS leader T. Ramarao, in which the former was wearing a BRS ‘gamchha’ (towel).
There is another political party in the picture. AIMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi alleged that when a woman died in the stampede, Allu Arjun was informed, but he did not come out of the theatre to meet the victims. According to Owaisi, Allu Arjun, on the contrary, said, his movie would now become a superhit.
Meanwhile, sources close to Chief Minister Revanth Reddy said on Monday night that a Shri Teja Trust with Rs 2 crore corpus fund will be created, to which Allu Arjun would contribute Rs 1 crore, the director Sukumar would donate Rs 50 lakh and producer Mythri Movie Makers would contribute Rs 50 lakhs. This trust will provide education and treatment expenses to the stampede victims.
Allu Arjun is among the top superstars of the South at the moment. His latest movie Pushpa-2 broke all records by doing more than Rs 1,500 crore business. It is still a mystery as to who is trying to buy enmity with the superstar by sending ruffians to attack his residence. But one thing appears to be clear. There was planning behind a conspiracy to target Allu Arjun. The intent was to convey the message to the superstar that being a super hero on screen is one thing, but in real life, the same hero can be reduced to a zero.
One should try to understand the chronology behind this. Firstly, the death of a female fan in the stampede at the movie premiere was sad and unfortunate, but Allu Arjun was not directly involved in this. Secondly, Hyderabad Police suddenly became active after a week. Allu Arjun was arrested, taken to a lower court which sent him to 14 days’ judicial custody, but in spite of High Court granting bail, the star was kept overnight inside the jail, citing jail manual rules.
The matter does not appear to be as straight as it looks. How Akbaruddin Owaisi levelled murder charge against Allu Arjun, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy criticizing the superstar, creates suspicions. This was followed by tomato pelting at Allu’s residence. Political parties levelled charges and counter-charges.
It is now clear there is someone who wants to settle old scores with Allu Arjun. The question arises: Why did CM Revanth Reddy speak out against Allu Arjun? Why was a criminal case filed against the star? Who orchestrated the attack on the star’s residence?
Fingers of suspicion are being pointed at the Chief Minister. Nobody knows why Revanth Reddy is unhappy with Allu Arjun. Though efforts are being made to iron out differences, the question will continue to hound: Was the Chief Minister trying to target the superstar? Is it personal rivalry or some old dispute? Something is being kept hidden and brushed under the carpet.
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