‘Pushpa-2’ row: Celebs & politicos fail to act fairly

A malicious propaganda which is humiliating for me is, perhaps, due to misinformation or miscommunication, says ‘Pushpa-2’ actor Allu Arjun. He had no permission to visit a theatre in Hydera-bad where the film was being screened, say police and govern-ment. Stampede claimed a woman’s life and put her son in hospital. The police on Sunday released video clips which showed how the stampede took place. They said they personally told the actor about the incident and asked him to leave the place, but he refused to do so. He left only after he was told that they would have to take necessary action if he did not heed their appeal.

Well, while the court will take a call on the entire issue which now seems to be getting curiouser. But more than that it is time the so-called artistes or “heroes” who charge mind-boggling fee – even up to Rs 100 crore per movie – need to understand that outside the shooting arena, they are just ordinary people. They should not feel they are incarnations of god. Surprisingly, the industry is silent about the unfortunate incident that took place.

On the other hand, attempts are being made to politicise the trag-ic incident. When there was pushing and jostling resulting in head injury to a septuagenarian MP outside the Parliament House, a case of attempt to murder was registered against Rahul Gandhi, saying that he was responsible for what had happened. They allege Rahul did not show empathy or sympathy. All BJP leaders made a beeline to RML Hospital in Delhi.

But when a woman died and her son is still in coma, registration of a case and the subsequent arrest of the actor are being criti-cised by the BJP. What a dichotomy? Why should they take sides? Did the Union MoS for Home see the entire video footage before making the comments or did he speak to the police? Should they not be neutral in the incident? There can’t be two different yardsticks. This is how the systems get collapsed.

The industry should at least now wake up and think about what kind of films they are making. In the past every character, includ-ing that of the villain in the film, used to have some clear-cut role and a clear message. Towards the end, the villain used to get transformed.

But now it’s seamless acting. The main outlook of film producers is not sending a message to society. It is purely commercial – how many thousands of crores the film will fetch. There has been a lot criticism about the storyline of ‘Pushpa’ which, according to the people, eulogises how a labourer named Pushpa makes enemies as he rises in the world of red sandalwood smuggling. However, violence erupts when the police attempt to bring down his illegal business. Take your own decisions for your growth. Be ruthless. Be courageous. Does the state BJP endorse this line of thinking?

The industry certainly needs to grow as a medium of healthy en-tertainment available for the common man within his budget, and not sell Rs 300 ticket for Rs 3,000 and give unnecessary hype.

At the same time, the people, even the die-hard fans, should change their mindset and should not go in for buying a Rs 300 ticket for Rs 3,000. The parents, too, should learn to put their feet down and refuse to succumb to such requests of the children. The decision of the government not to permit benefit shows is certainly a wise decision.