Without taking any names from the field of politics, actor Allu Arjun on Saturday said that there has been an attempt at character assassination against him and a lot of misinformation is floating around.
“There is a lot of misinformation, false allegations, and a lot of communication gap. There are a lot of misquotations. I have not said anything like that. Please don’t judge me. Please don’t have character assassination on me. I am not that kind of a person,” the actor, flanked by his father Aravind and a lawyer, said on Saturday evening.
The actor’s response comes in the wake of Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy earlier in the day in Assembly said that despite knowing that a woman died in the stampede and her son was in critical condition, the actor first refused to leave the theater. It was only later, after much pleading from the police, that he left Sandhya Theatre in a road show waving at his fans, he added.
“The theatre had only one entrance and exit. Despite police warnings, the hero arrived in an open-top car, causing a commotion. This led to a stampede, resulting in the death of a woman, Revathi, and her son being critically injured. The hero didn't even visit the family or console them,” Revanth Reddy stated.
He added that the actor left the theatre only after a DCP warned him that if he did not leave the theatre they would have to arrest him.
Explaining his side of the story, Arjun said, “The theatre has sought permission from the police. When I was entering, the police in front of me were clearing the fans; I was going by their direction. Had they told me there was no permission to enter the theatre and that I had to return back, being a law-abiding citizen I would’ve followed that. There was no road show or procession as such; there was a crowd outside the theatre; maybe metres away. I’ve just waved my hands at them because when hundreds of fans come to see you, it’s my basic respect to wave my hands. Within sometime of me watching the movie, I was told that there was an uncontrollable crowd outside the theatre and that I had to leave. This was informed by the people who manage me. Not the police.”
Terming the episode as the lowest point of his life, the actor added that he has been sitting alone for the past 15 days in his garden, while further reiterating that he will continue to support the deceased’s family in every which way possible. He also noted that he was receiving hourly updates on Sritej’s condition.
