Recently, strict rules have been suggested for implantation for the functions of audio launches in Telugu films. This was followed by the death of a fan during the music launch of the film, Baadshah. Raju from Warangal, who was at the music launch of the film, hosted at Ramanaidu Studios in Nanakramguda to catch a glimpse of his favourite stars, was crushed to death in a stampede.Producer Ganesh blamed the fans as they tried to enter the venue in large numbers, causing the stampede. A lawsuit had been filed against the organizers for their negligence. One thing was evident, and that was the fact that, overcrowding of the venue led to this unfortunate event. The venue had a seating capacity of just 12000-15000, but the number of people who turned up at the scene was more than 25000. Inspector A. Balakoti said that there was too much of pushing and pulling at the queue.
As a result, the Hyderabad police has now become very strict about the number of tickets being distributed. They are allowing only a select number of passes to be distributed among the general public. These passes will not only bear the hologram of the organizers but will also have the seal of Hyderabad Police. This is because, the organizers’ holograms have been duplicated before by the fans who have managed to enter the venue with the false passes, thereby increasing the number of visitors at a venue.So, the tickets with the Police seal cannot be duplicated. The Hyderabad Police has also instructed that makers to relay the audio functions live in the movie theatres. This is to ensure that the number of people at the actual venue is low and within control. However, it is a matter of concern that the Police will now be required to control the crowd at more than just one venue, as the fans will now be rushing to the theatres to catch the event live, whereas earlier, the police only had to give security cover at one place. The number of passes is being controlled by the police as well, to ensure that apart from the VVIPs and VIPs, only people who can be accommodated into the venues get to but the tickets and enter the event with real passes.
The audio launching programmes of the films like Ram Charan’sYevadu and Mahesh Babu’s 1: Nenokkadine have already been subject to the new rules, owing to the unfortunate death of the fan. The Police itself has taken the responsibility of distributing the passes of 1: Nenokkadine. As for Yevadu, the music launch programme was given the permission to be held at Shilpa Kala Vedika. The number of the tickets was also decided by the cops to be 2000, out of which 1100 went out to the public, while 200 were allotted for the VVIPs, 650 for VIPs and 50 for the organizers and security persons. It was noted that a large number of the passes went to the fans and associations of some fans, while a huge number of fans could not lay hands upon the passes and were left extremely disappointed. However, this is to control the situation and make sure another unfortunate death does not happen.