Facing blowback over Allu row, CM Revanth speaks to film bigwigs

Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy attempted to lower the temperature in a face-off with popular actor Allu Arjun at a meeting with members of the Telugu film fraternity, but stressed that there will be no compromise on the matters of law and order as regulations apply equally to all, according to people aware of the matter.

- Srinivasa Rao Apparasu

The CM's meeting with top Telugu actors, producers, and directors comes against the backdrop of actor Arjun being arrested and then released on bail over a stampede during the premiere of the film Pushpa 2: The Rule on December 4. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and various film personalities have accused the state's Congress government of targeting Arjun—a charge rejected by the ruling party.

Nearly 45 film personalities, including actors Nagarjuna, Venkatesh and Nitin, producers Allu Aravind (father of Allu Arjun), Dil Raju, and C Kalyan and directors K Raghavendra Rao and Trivikram Srinivas, were part of the delegation that met Revanth at the Hyderabad Police Command and Control Centre.

"It is my responsibility to enforce the laws. I do not have any personal preferences. Let us all develop the film industry together, and the government is ready to extend all support to the film industry," the chief minister said at the meeting, according to a statement from his office.

However, an official statement from the CMO said Reddy also told the delegation that the police had to act tough against the suspects after the stampede in Hyderabad.