On the floor of the Telangana Assembly today, CM Revanth Reddy blamed the entire Telugu film industry for caring to solacing Allu Arjun but not the 9-year-old victim of the Pushpa 2 stampede incident. He wondered what their state of mind must be like.
Had film celebrities queued up to the hospital to check on the injured boy, the police might have found it hard to manage the crowds outside the hospital. And the first ones to shame them would have been the political class. Allu Aravind met the boy's family only after seeking permission from authorities.
Probably, some celebrities might have feared certain unforeseen consequences of meeting the victim's family. Nowadays, any political leader or media house can make allegations without any evidence. Had actor X met the boy's family, leader Y or TV channel Z might have accused him of meeting the boy's family on behalf of Allu Arjun to influence the legal proceedings. In the era of polarization and ultra-politicization of any and every tragedy, it is better to be safe than to be sorry. Why should everyone invite headache upon themselves just to look good in the eyes of the public?
Above all, it's excessive to say that everyone in the film industry is duty-bound to comfort the boy's family. Why should they? Are they our elected leaders?
