A crucial meeting between Telangana government and Telugu film reps will take place on Thursday in a bid to ease ‘soured’ ties amid high stakes.

A crucial meeting between the Telangana government and Telugu film industry representatives is expected to be held on Thursday to thaw the speculated strained ties between the ruling dispensation and the tinseltown following the arrest of top actor Allu Arjun.

The 42-year-old star was arrested recently in connection with the stampede at a theatre here screening his latest movie, Pushpa 2: The Rule, which resulted in the death of a woman on December 4.

All about the meeting
Telangana State Film Development Corporation (FDC) chairman and leading producer Dil Raju said on Wednesday that a delegation of film personalities would call on state Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy today to foster “healthy relations” between the government and the industry.

The meeting assumes significance amid Cinematography minister Komatireddi Venkat Reddy’s statement that the state government, in future, may consider ticket price hike only for certain categories such as films made on history, freedom struggle or anti-drugs or message oriented.

State govt’s stance on high-budget films
The state government’s stand came in the wake of the death of a 35-year-old woman at Sandhya Theatre here due to suffocation where Pushpa 2 was screened on December 4.

If implemented properly, the minister’s statement will have a huge impact on high-budget films such as Ram Charan’s Game Changer, Nandamuri Balakrishna’s Daaku Maharaj, and Venkatesh’s Sankranthiki Vasthunnam, which are slated for release during Sankranti next year.

Dil Raju produced Game Changer, directed by popular Director S Shankar. The film was reportedly made with a budget of nearly ₹400 crore.

Though the Telangana State Film Chamber of Commerce welcomed the government’s decision that it will not allow benefit shows of movies in the state and also enhanced ticket prices will be done on a case-to-case basis, the move may not go down well with the production houses as they usually look to reap the benefits during the early day of the film release.

The meeting is being organised on behalf of the FDC, Dil Raju had said, adding, he would act as a bridge between the government and the film fraternity.

Political slugfest over Allu Arjun arrest
Some ruling Congress leaders have found fault with Allu Arjun’s comments last week, describing the stampede incident as purely accidental and denying the allegations made by CM Revanth Reddy on the “roadshow” before the film screening.

Hours after Reddy slammed the actor for holding a roadshow and waving to the crowds at the theatre, without referring to anyone, the ‘Pushpa’ star refuted the allegations, saying it was not a procession or a roadshow.

Allu Arjun was arrested by the city police in connection with the death of the woman on December 13. The Telangana High Court granted him a four-week interim bail on the same day and he was released from a prison here on December 14 morning.

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D Gukesh made history last week by defeating China’s Ding Liren in the decisive 14th game of the FIDE World Championship match held in Singapore.

D Gukesh, India’s chess prodigy, made history last week by defeating China’s Ding Liren in the decisive 14th game of the FIDE World Championship match held in Singapore. He has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love from people, including celebrities like Rajinikanth and Sivakarthikeyan, whom he met in Chennai on Thursday. (Also Read: Shah Rukh Khan wishes ‘legend and absolutely remarkably simple man’ Rajinikanth on his 74th birthday. See post)

D Gukesh meets Rajinikanth
D Gukesh took to his X handle on Thursday morning and first shared pictures from his meeting with superstar Rajinikanth. The actor wore a black kurta and a grey lungi as he posed for pictures with Gukesh and his parents – father and ENT surgeon Dr Rajinikanth, and mother and microbiologist Padmavathi. Rajinikanth also presented a shawl and a book – Paramahansa Yogananda’s 1946 spiritual classic Autobiography of a Yogi to Gukesh.

Gukesh wrote in his caption, “Thanks Superstar @rajinikanth sir for your warm wishes and inviting ,spending time and sharing your wisdom with us (folded hands emoji).” On the work front, Rajinikanth will be next seen in Lokesh Kanagaraj’s action thriller Coolie. It’s slated to release in cinemas next year.

Gukesh’s meeting with Sivakarthikeyan
Gukesh also shared pictures from his meeting with Sivakarthikeyan. In the stills from the chess prodigy’s Chennai residence, Sivakarthikeyan can be seen wearing a light T-shirt and black trousers. He’s seen posing for pictures and interacting with Gukesh. In other pictures, Sivakarthikeyan can be seen gifting a luxury watch to Gukesh, and feeding a customised chess-themed cake to the champion. Gukesh wrote in the caption, “Had a great time with @Siva_Kartikeyan sir and he was kind enough to spend time with me and my family despite his busy schedule and enjoyed a lot!”

On the work front, Sivakarthikeyan garnered a lot of praise for his portrayal of Ashoka Chakra recipient Major Mukul Anand in Rajkumar Periasamy’s war film Amaran. He’ll be next seen in films helmed by AR Murugadoss and Sudha Kongara respectively.

Gukesh, 18, defeated China’s Ding Liren 7.5-6.5 in Singapore last week to become the youngest ever world champion, overhauling the long-standing mark set by Russian icon Garry Kasparov as a 22-year-old back in 1985.

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Amid his feud with Diljit Dosanjh, AP Dhillon threw shade at the Punjabi singer’s ongoing Dil-Luminati Tour, shows of which sold out within seconds.

AP Dhillon’s feud with Diljit Dosanjh has been grabbing a lot of eyeballs on social media. Now, on The Ranveer Show, AP addressed the controversy around concerts in India selling out within seconds, including those of Diljit’s ongoing Dil-Luminati Tour. (Also Read – No toilets, parking woes to warring fans: India sees music tourism boom but are we really ready for it?)

What AP Dhillon said
“India mein abhi crisis aa jayega agar isi hisab se chalta raha (There’ll come a crisis in India if things go on like this). Artists are being unfair with their own fans ki 15 seconds mein sell out ho gaye shows. Kuchh bhi sell out nahi hua hai (that shows sold out within 15 seconds. Nothing is sold out). It’s all a way of marketing. Promoters ko ticket de dete hain. Their fans, ab unko wait karna padta hai, aur higher price mein ticket khareedna padta hai (They sell tickets to promoters. The fans have to wait and buy tickets at higher prices),” said AP Dhillon.

“At some point, humein bhi yehi laga (we also thought), should we play this game? But I’m like no, we can’t go to bed knowing that jinhone show dekhne aana tha, humne unke sath aise kiya (those who wanted to attend the show, we did this to them). You name it, koi bhi show ho raha hai jo sold out hai, mujhe batao, 2,000 tickets chahiye, kal hi dilwa dunga. Aaj hi dilwa dunga. Log music ko abhi game ki tarah khel rahe hain. So usi mein mazza jo hai kharab ho gaya (Any show which is sold out, ask me if you need 2,000 tickets, I’ll get them for you tomorrow, or even today. People are playing music like a game. That’s sucked the joy out of it),” added the singer.

He said people will soon realise what’s happening. Calling it a “dirty game,” AP argued that artists aren’t bigger than fans, and the fans at least deserve to buy tickets at reasonable prices. While AP didn’t name any particular artist because this tactic is working for them, he claimed that artists at a higher stature shouldn’t indulge in these practices because it wouldn’t help them much.

AP’s feud with Diljit Dosanjh
Diljit Dosanjh’s ongoing Dil-Luminati Tour in India reportedly sold out within seconds. At a concert, Diljit argued that he has nothing to do with that and that he’s been working on his music for years so he’s earned this fan frenzy. The Dil-Luminati Tour, which kicked off in Gurgaon in October, will conclude in Guwahati this Sunday on December 29.

During his recent concert in Chandigarh, AP Dhillon addressed the crowd, referencing Diljit’s shoutout to him. In a viral video on social media, he alleged that Diljit had blocked him on Instagram. This remark quickly gained traction online, with fans and media speculating about a potential rift between the two artists.

In a move to clear the air, Diljit took to Instagram shortly after the concert. Sharing a screenshot of AP Dhillon’s account, Diljit wrote, “I never blocked you. Mere pange sarkaaran naal ho sakde aa, kalaakaran naal nahi (My issues could be with governments, not with artists).” Following Diljit’s Instagram Story, Dhillon posted another video on his own Instagram, showing the status of Diljit’s account both before and after the block. He captioned the video: “I wasn’t going to say anything, knowing I’d get backlash anyway, but at least now we know what’s real and what’s not.”

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