Congress leaders defended the police action saying the rule of law applies equally to everyone.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Jana Sena Party (JSP) leaders—Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan—have maintained a stoic silence, so far.

However, some of their leaders haven’t been quiet on the issue. The TDP’s Bandaru Satyanarayana and the JSP’s Bolisetti Srinivas in Andhra Pradesh have made some scathing remarks in connection with Allu Arjun and his film, Pushpa 2.

Apart from the political uproar, the incident has also put the spotlight on “the undeclared long standing rivalry” between the Telugu film industry’s two most influential Konidela and Allu families.

Even as many top Telugu film stars, directors and producers—including Rana Daggubati, Vijay Devarakonda and D. Venkatesh, B. Sukumar, Koratala Siva—lined up at Arjun’s Jubilee Hills residence to greet him after his release from jail, none of his actor cousins from the Konidela “Mega” family—including Ram Charan of RRR fame, Sai Dharam Tej, Varun Tej and Vaishnav Tej—made an appearance.

On Thursday, the meeting of Telugu Film Industry honchos, including producer Allu Aravind, with CM Revanth Reddy to settle matters in the wake of the Sandhya theatre episode stood out for the notable absence of Konidela Chiranjeevi, who is considered the patriarch of both the “Mega” family and the movie industry here. The term Mega comes from Chiranjeevi’s popular moniker Mega-star.

Though the Telugu movie industry is based in Hyderabad in Telangana, it has a much bigger fan following in Andhra Pradesh where most of the leading industry personalities originate from.

Kalyan himself is a massively popular film star-turned-politician while Naidu, whose first ministerial portfolio in united AP was cinematography, is the son-in-law of Telugu matinee legend and TDP founder Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao. Balakrishna, Jr NTR, etc., are from the Nandamuri stable.

Allu Aravind, Arjun’s father and son of legendary comedian Allu Ramalingaiah, is a top film producer and brother-in-law of Konidela Chiranjeevi. This also makes Arjun Kalyan’s nephew.

However, according to Telugu film historians and movie critics who have been following these families and their films for decades, the two households “are in a state of undeclared bitterness or unease for several years now”.

“Ramalingaiah was an established actor and Aravind was a successful producer by the time Chiranjeevi gained attention in the industry in 1978 and was married to Surekha (in 1980). Chiranjeevi later attained massive stardom,” says Rangavajhala Bharadwaja, a noted film critic.

“In a feeling of being overshadowed by Chiranjeevi’s aura, the Allu family, especially Arjun, vied for their own identity and reaffirmation of the Allu legacy.”

The emphasis on the AA brand—synonymous with Allu Arjun—is seen as a part of that endeavour.

Rangavajhala says Andarivaadu (2005) was the last movie Chiranjeevi acted in under Aravind’s production banner Geetha Arts. Arjun’s film Bunny released the same year, and the Konidela family’s Chiranjeevi and Kalyan were conspicuous by their absence from its promotional events.

“In one way, we can say, it is a children’s quarrel that resulted in disquiet in both families. Arjun’s 2004 film Arya was a major hit, recognising him as a good actor and dancer, drawing public comparisons with Ram Charan,” Rangavajhala says.

Charan had to wait till 2009 for such a blockbuster with Baahubali, RRR fame S.S. Rajamouli-directed Magadheera. While Arya 1 and Arya 2 were directed by Pushpa franchise director B. Sukumar, Charan gained critical acclaim for his performance in the 2018 Rangasthalam, which was also directed by Sukumar.

However, Aravind played a key role in Chiranjeevi’s political foray as his principal aide. His influence in the short-lived Praja Rajyam Party (2008-2011) was significant: he took charge of key decisions like the 2009 polls contestants.

However, when the party failed, he bore the brunt, even though Chiranjeevi publicly defended his brother-in-law at that time.

“The two were like Krishna-Arjuna at that time. Yes, some gap is evident but the relationship never turned sour. When faced with a crisis or challenge from outside, I believe, the two families still unite under the ‘Mega-umbrella’,” a JSP leader currently associated with Kalyan and who previously worked with Chiranjeevi told ThePrint.

Citing his conversation with the two long back, the leader said Aravind had even mortgaged their plush Jubilee Hills residence, where the Allu family lives now, to meet election-related expenses in 2009.

This time, however, the still politically influential Chiranjeevi, a former Union minister, has not been seen coming to the rescue as the Allu family battles its worst crisis ever.

“Chiranjeevi did visit the Allu residence on the day Arjun was arrested when Aravind accompanied his son to the police station. Surekha went and hugged Arjun after his release, and Arjun and his wife called on Chiranjeevi later. That is it,” said Rangavajhala.

The Arjun couple’s visit to Chiranjeevi a day later, as seen in a recent photo, and later Naga Babu, the middle Konidela brother, though, is seen as a sign of a thaw in relations.

As Chiranjeevi did not comment, Andhra Pradesh deputy chief minister Kalyan distanced himself from the controversy partly because the arrest is a legal matter pursued by a neighboring government and its police.

“What is the point of making public statements? If they (Chiranjeevi and Kalyan) are required to do something, I am sure, they will,” said the JSP leader.

Nevertheless, a cryptic message from Kalyan’s official account on social media platform X an hour or so after Arjun’s arrest on 13 December had tongues wagging.

“United we stand, divided we fall,” Pawan Kalyan said in the post.

Though the post used #SwarnaAndhra2047 #ViksitBharat2047 tags, it was seen by many as a message to Arjun who has been allegedly disregarding Kalyan at some movie events.

In August, a remark by Kalyan, who is also the Andhra Pradesh forests and environment minister, that a film hero nowadays is someone “who cuts away at the forest and is a smuggler”, was seen as a dig at Arjun’s red sanders smuggler character Pushpa.

These differences have resulted in full-fledged animosity between Allu and Konidela fans, especially of Arjun and Kalyan, who often engage in bitter online battles, trolling the opposite side at theatres during movie releases.

Also read: Why legal community is calling Allu Arjun’s arrest in stampede case an ‘overreach’ on part of authorities

Political factors, ‘Arjun’s missteps’

Political analysts say Arjun drew the larger ire of Kalyan as well as JSP and TDP supporters when he appeared at Nandyal YSRCP candidate Shilpa Ravichandra Reddy’s residence before the assembly and general elections this year in a show of support for his personal friend.

Though Arjun refrained from making any speeches or endorsing the YSRCP, the move irked the TDP-JSP combine which was in a fierce battle with the Jagan Reddy-led party.

On 13 December, Jagan was quick to post on X questioning the Revanth Reddy government and police move to directly hold the actor responsible for the stampede death “even as Arjun expressed regret and offered support”.

The former CM condemned the arrest, and the “criminal cases framed against Arjun”.

YSRCP leaders allege the Naidu-Revanth connection played a role in the matter. Revanth used to be a TDP legislator in Telangana and party’s assembly floor leader earlier and still admires Naidu.

In an interview after becoming Telangana chief minister in last December, Revanth claimed he never got a congratulatory call from Jagan, his Andhra Pradesh counterpart and Naidu’s bete noire.

“The connection and the Telangana government’s vendetta against Arjun are apparent. Many stampedes took place across the country at various events where people died, including rallies addressed by Naidu. Was Naidu arrested?” Ambati Rambabu, a senior YSRCP leader and former minister, told ThePrint.

In January 2023, three women were killed in a stampede at a Naidu event in Guntur, where sarees and Sankranti gifts were distributed to the poor. The stampede occurred after Naidu had left. It was the second stampede in four days at his events, following an earlier one in Kandukur, where eight TDP supporters died.

The ruling YSRCP had then accused the TDP chief of “playing havoc with lives of innocent people by mobilising them in large numbers for his publicity craze”.

Even as Hyderabad police said in a press conference Sunday that Arjun refused to leave the theatre even after being informed of the stampede and death, Ambati defended Arjun saying “the unfortunate incident was not intentional or negligent on the actor’s part”.

“Kalyan’s silence on Arjun’s arrest is his support to Revanth Reddy’s actions, which is a design in collusion with Naidu,” Ambati, who earlier played a cameo in a couple of films, alleges.

However, an AP CMO source told ThePrint that Naidu made “a courtesy phone call” to Aravind and Arjun on the day of the arrest and release.

Rajeshwari Kalyanam, a Hyderabad-based film critic and political observer, says Arjun’s attitude and inexperience in dealing with crises, combined with opposition parties in Telangana using the episode to attack the Congress government, have complicated matters for the star.

She believes the star finds himself embroiled in controversy at a time when he should be basking in the glory of the global success of Pushpa 2 and its unprecedented nationwide collections of Rs 1,600 crore so far.

Referring to Arjun’s momentary lapse at a Pushpa 2 success meet days before his arrest, where he seemed to forget chief minister Revanth’s name while expressing his thanks for the state government support allowing special shows, higher ticket price, BRS working president and former minister K.T. Rama Rao remarked at a BRS meeting last week, “The incident irked the CM so much that he had Arjun arrested.”

Earlier, as Arjun was arrested, KTR tweeted saying the “arrest of National Award-winning star as the pinnacle of insecurity of the rulers!”

Another BRS leader and former finance minister Harish Rao said the Revanth Reddy government has been targeting people who question the administration.

“Congress goondas had attacked our leader MLA Kaushik Reddy’s house for questioning this government’s functioning. Now, the vandals at Arjun’s home are Congressmen who were even photographed with Revanth earlier,” Harish told reporters Tuesday.

Union minister and Telangana BJP chief Kishan Reddy posted a video of “stone pelting” at actor Arjun’s residence Sunday, saying that “targeting of artists and cine industry has become a dangerous norm under the Congress government in Telangana. Is this Congress supported/sponsored?”

Kalyanam says that for the BJP and BRS, Arjun is like an enemy’s enemy becoming their friend.

“The parties are also using the issue to their advantage. Their involvement and attacks on the CM and the Congress are perceived to have precipitated the matter in addition to Arjun’s own impulsive defiance. Instead of adopting a reconciliatory tone, he went public with reactive statements drawing more fire from the government, police and Congress leaders,” she told ThePrint.

On Saturday, Revanth Reddy, in a blistering speech in the state assembly, accused Arjun of attending the Pushpa 2 premiere at Sandhya theatre despite police denying permission and behaving “inhumanly” towards the victim’s family by not visiting them.

Arjun held a media briefing the same day calling the remarks “character assassination by spreading misinformation”.

A day later, Hyderabad commissioner C.V. Anand had a news conference where police presented video and CCTV footage as evidence to show that Arjun’s entry at the theatre in a roadshow, waving from his car sunroof, led fans to go berserk. This led to the bedlam that apparently killed the 38-year-old Revathi who came to watch Pushpa 2 with her husband, son and daughter.

Telangana BJP leaders like Bandi Sanjay called police arresting national Award-winning Arjun “straight from his bedroom a disgraceful act of mismanagement and disrespect.”

But AP BJP chief Daggubati Purandeswari, in a deviation from the NDA alliance partners standpoint, told reporters Sunday the accident was not instigated by Arjun and that his arrest was incorrect.

Arjun, who is out on an interim bail granted by the Telangana high court, Tuesday appeared before the police at Hyderabad’s Chikkadpally police station for questioning in connection with the case. He was booked under sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 118 (1) (causing hurt) of the BNS.

Also read: TV news has an ‘Allu vs Revanth’ war on its hands—it’s hunting for conspiracy, ‘photo proofs’