Pushpa 2 stampede: Fanfare continues at Sandhya Theatre a day after the tragedy

SFI and DYFI activists during a protest after a woman died and her son was hospitalised due to asphyxiation as crowds “jostled” at a film theatre during the premiere show of actor Allu Arjun’s “Pushpa 2: The Rule”, in Hyderabad, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

A distraught M. Bhaskar, who lost his wife in the melee at Sandhya Theatre, sat holding his head in his hands outside the Gandhi Hospital morgue while waiting for the body on Thursday afternoon.

About 18 hours after the incident, Bhaskar did not have a clear picture on what transpired on the premises that led to his wife M. Revathi’s death and landed his eight-year-old son Sritej in the critical care unit of a private hospital in Secunderabad. Bhaskar’s mother, who sat along with him on the stairs outside the morgue, expressed her disappointment at the gross mismanagement and negligence of both the theatre management and the actor.

His eyes welled with tears and his voice broke as he expressed his plight. His son, who he said was a big fan of Allu Arjun is now scarred for life. According to Bhaskar, the family met at the theatre around 9.30 p.m. and started walking into the auditorium along with others. “Around this time, the actor entered the hall, and a huge crowd followed him. Seeing this, my daughter started crying and I stopped at the left side to let them pass. I waited for my wife and son to join but they were carried forward with the crowd,” he recalled.

As he searched for them amidst the crowd, his five-year-old daughter panicked and cried for her mother. He decided to drop her off at a friend’s place about 500 metre away from the theatre. Minutes later, he returned to the news of his wife and son missing.

“I enquired about my wife and son from the police officials stationed at the theatre. They asked me about my son and what he was wearing. As I shared details, they pulled out a phone and showed a video of my son being brought out of the theatre unconscious. I was asked to immediately go to the hospital… I was shattered,” he shared. The news about his wife’s demise was only shared with him around 2.30 a.m. after his son’s hospital formalities were concluded, he added.

The family lodged a formal complaint on Thursday after which the police booked actor Allu Arjun, his personal security staff and the management of Sandhya Theatre under charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and voluntarily causing hurt.

Show must go on

Meanwhile, the day started as usual for the theatre which did not stop screening for a single show even after a woman died in the cinema hall. Around noon, when the first show was still running, an eager crowd gathered outside the premises for the second show scheduled at 1.50 p.m. The theatre showcased life size posters and cut-out of the actors, and the young crowd was seen hooting and taking pictures with the lead actor’s mask on their foreheads.

The 500-metre stretch between RTC X road and Bus Bhavan exhibited stark contrast, teeming with fans on one side and over 100 khaki-clad policemen patrolling on the other.

A group of four friends, who identified themselves as ‘Allu Army’ and had arrived at the theatre over 70 minutes before the show time and were cheering for the actor in excitement. They were not aware of the incident that occurred last night. While hotels were empty, the parking lots were filled with vehicles of those who came for the movie.

Student union groups, including Students’ Federation of India (SFI), were seen marching with their flags and placards demanding immediate action against the incident. They were later detained by the police.

Heavy police deployment remained in the area for the entire day to avoid further troubles.