4 months ago
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Allu Arjun's much-anticipated film '
Pushpa 2: The Rule
' was struck with tragedy on Wednesday night after a stampede broke out at the Sandhya Theatre, RTC Crossroads, leaving one dead.
The premiere show turned tragic, claiming the life of a 39-year-old woman and leaving a boy, believed to be her young son in critical condition. According to various news reports, the woman, identified as Revathi from Dilsukhnagar, had attended the premiere with her husband Bhaskar and their two children. Sadly, chaos broke out at around 10:30 PM as a surge of fans rushed to catch a glimpse of leading man Allu Arjun, who was also at the screening.
Videos posted online saw police and bystanders rushing to help the victim. CPR was performed on Revathi before she was allegedly rushed to a hospital. While the child was later transferred to a super-speciality hospital and remains in critical condition, Revathi succumbed to her injuries.
IndiaToday reports that the crowd spiralled out of control when news spread of the actor’s arrival. Many scrambled to get closer to the star who was surrounded by a team of police and security.
Videos doing the rounds also see Police resorting to lathi charge to disperse the crowd. IANS reports that the theatre's main gate also collapsed amid the chaos outside the theatre.
As Allu Arjun was still inside the theatre, the police beefed up security with the deployment of additional force to prevent any untoward incident.
On being escorted to his waiting car, Allu Arjun was seen making an appearance through his sun roof and waving to the crowds. He was also seen pleading with the people to make way for his car to leave the premises.
Director Sukumar's '
Pushpa 2
: The Rule' is a sequel to the 2021 film 'Pushpa: The Rise', which was a massive hit across India. The film's premiere shows were held at 9.30 p.m. on Wednesday in selected theatres in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Bengaluru.
The much-awaited movie is slated to release on more than 10,000 screens in 2D and 4DX formats. The release of the 3D version was cancelled at the last minute due to a delay in post-production.
'Pushpa 2' features Rashmika Mandanna as the female lead. Like in 'Pushpa: The Rise', Fahadh Faasil will be seen in a key role. Anasuya Bharadwaj, Jagadeesh Prathap Bandari, Daali Dhananjaya, and others are part of the supporting cast.
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