Allu Arjun arrest: Unbelievable and heartbreaking, says Rashmika

Actor Allu Arjun's Pushpa 2: The Rule co-star Rashmika Mandanna on Friday defended the Telugu superstar after he was arrested in connection with the death of a woman during the film's screening in Hyderabad, saying an individual should not be singled out for the unfortunate incident.

Arjun was arrested from his residence and taken to Chikkadpally police station earlier on Friday. He was granted interim bail by the Telangana High Court after being remanded to judicial custody for 14 days by a local court.

A 35-year-old woman died and her eight-year-old son has been hospitalised in the incident, which took place on the night of 4 December as a large number of fans thronged Hyderabad's Sandhya theatre to catch a glimpse of the actor.

"I can’t believe what I am seeing right now.. The incident that happened was an unfortunate and deeply saddening incident," Mandanna, who plays Srivalli in Pushpa 2, said in a post on X. "However, it is disheartening to see everything being blamed on a single individual. This situation is both unbelievable and heartbreaking."

The city police have registered a case against Allu Arjun, his security team, and the theatre management under sections 105 and 118(1) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the Chikkadpally police station based on the complaint lodged by the deceased woman's family.

Pushpa 2 has powered past the Rs 1000-crore landmark at the global box-office, having achieved the feat on Thursday, making the Allu Arjun-starrer the seventh Indian film to join the coveted Rs 1000-crore club and the quickest to do so. In the process, it has outstripped Baahubali 2 — which achieved the same feat in nine days — by a day.