Pushpa 2 and the toxic cult of hero worship

The recent stampede in a Hyderabad movie theatre and the subsequent arrest of actor Allu Arjun—who starred in the blockbuster film Pushpa 2—have triggered significant national interest. People, especially from the Telugu states, have been keenly following the media coverage on the developments.

At a peripheral level, this may look like a poorly managed promotional event leading to a stampede death, but the underlying factors have been brewing in the Telugu film industry for years. This unfortunate incident is the result of a complex mix of hero worship, greedy producers, egoistic movie stars, nepotism, deep-rooted casteism, and politics in the film industry.

Telugu cinema, from the 1960s to the 1980s, featured iconic stars like N T Ramarao, A Nageswara Rao, Chiranjeevi, Sridevi, and Jayaprada and filmmakers like K V Reddy, K Vishwanath, and Dasari Narayana Rao. The industry reached the pinnacle of success as it went pan-India with blockbusters like the Bahubali series, RRR, and Pushpa.

The North Indian audience, starved of high-voltage action films and heroes, embraced Telugu mass heroes like Prabhas and Allu Arjun. Over the past five years, the potential of the Telugu movie market has exploded from Rs 25-30 crore to Rs 1,000 crore. This shift has transformed the fundamentals of the industry and the approach of actors and producers to filmmaking and promotion.

In parallel, a worrisome trend has emerged with caste creeping into the Telugu movie fanbase. Many fans now identify their favourite actors based on their castes. There is entrenched nepotism with sons, daughters, cousins, and other members of star families forming their camps and establishing a circle of influence. Fans align themselves with these camps and castes, setting up an unhealthy environment. They form community groups and indulge in social media wars, making things very personal.

The actors and producers have formed public relations and marketing firms to encourage these groups, often providing them with financial support. Promotional events such as audio launches and tours resemble political rallies, with crores of rupees spent to ensure that thousands of fans participate. These events are also telecast live. The success of these events has become a matter of prestige for the actors and producers. During these events, all the speakers praise the male leads of the films and their legacy, elevating them to demigod status.

Fans, caught in this illusion of hero worship, exhibit cult-like devotion to stars. As the Telugu filmmaking became expensive with high production costs and actors’ fees, producers significantly increased the ticket prices to exorbitant levels, often 15-20 times the standard rate during the initial days of release. They use their political connections to secure special approvals from the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana governments to increase the prices and justify these hikes. Though ordinary people cannot afford these exorbitant prices, there are instances of fans spending 30% to 40% of their monthly salaries on tickets, making watching their favourite hero’s movie on the opening day a matter of prestige. For example, the husband of the woman who died in the Sandhya Theatre stampede reportedly spent Rs 12,000—40% of his monthly salary of Rs 30,000—on tickets for his family.

The unfortunate stampede and death incident in the theatre has really jolted the psyche of the Telugu movie industry and people. It has brought out the arrogance and hypocrisy of the film industry bare open, and Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy should be commended for standing up against the powerful industry. His actions ensured that the industry goes into introspection mode and contemplates urgent course correction. This tragic incident has acted as a moral reckoning for the industry, stripping away the façade of grandeur that has blinded fans.

Hopefully, fans and people realise their priorities and treat films as just one form of entertainment, avoiding the intrusion of cinema into their personal and family lives. Meanwhile, actors should demonstrate moral and social obligation and behave as responsible public figures. They should educate fans, discourage hero worship, promote responsible fandom, and take a stand against caste-based divisions and online toxicity. 

The government and Telugu movie industry leaders need to work together to carefully manage the societal influence of cinema by putting the necessary guardrails in place and providing necessary support. They must work towards fostering a healthier environment for the industry and its audience.

(The writer is a US-based professional)