The much-hyped pre-release event of 'Devara' was dead on arrival on Sunday. After hours of dilly-dallying by the police, the mismanaged event was cancelled eventually.
The event was supposed to commence at 7 pm or so. Up until 9 pm, the organizers and security personnel were grappling with overenthusiastic, teeming crowds at the venue (Novotel HICC in Hyderabad). By then, some damage to hotel property had taken place.
The capacity of the venue was about 5,000. As per those who were present at the venue, as many as 20,000 fans turned up. Of them, 10,000 were in possession of passes, which were printed in excess by the organizers of the event.
The chaos was palpably unmanageable. Fans who managed to slip inside the auditorium were undisciplined from the start. They constantly fought amongst themselves to be in the vicinity of the podium.
The organizers had conveyed to Jr NTR not to reach the venue until things could be brought under control. And the controlling never happened. Left with no option, the event was called off.
