Allu Arjun’s Pushpa 2: Stampede at premiere leaves woman dead, son battling for life in Hyderabad

The deceased has been identified as M Revathi, who had come for the show along with her husband M Bhaskar, their son and seven-year-old daughter.

The police said that the closed gates of the theatre collapsed under the pressure of the surging crowd, causing the stampede. Arjun and other film crew members were inside the theatre when the stampede occurred.

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“People who were exiting the theatre from a previous show were caught in the midst of the crowd. Revathi and her son fell down in the stampede. The police personnel present there tried to resuscitate Revathi for several minutes. She and her son were rushed to Durgabai Deshmukh Hospital where Revathi was declared dead. Her son has been shifted to KIMS hospital with serious injuries and is in a critical condition,” said an officer at Chikkadpally police station where a case has been registered.

Officials said that in spite of police presence, the crowd was uncontrollable and the police resorted to a mild baton charge.

Pushpa 2: The Rule is a sequel to the 2021 blockbuster Pushpa: The Rise that fetched Allu Arjun the National Award for the best actor in 2023. The film was released Wednesday in select theatres across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh with ticket prices as high as Rs 1,200 per ticket.