Amaravati, 30 Dec

Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan on Monday said the makers of Allu Arjun starrer 'Pushpa 2' should have reached out to the family of the woman, who died in a recent stampede at a theatre in Hyderabad, sooner.

A 35-year-old woman was killed in the stampede, and her eight-year-old son was seriously injured on 4  December at RTC Crossroads when they went to watch the movie.

Addressing reporters, the Deputy Chief Minister said a gesture like this could have averted the situation from spiralling out of control and the "mountain being made out of a molehill."

What they (movie makers) could have done is gone to the victim’s home the very next day. The producers, director, or anyone from the team should have expressed their condolences and shown they are with the family in their grief. Had they done this, it wouldn’t have escalated like this, said Kalyan.

Following the incident, Arjun was briefly arrested by Hyderabad police, and a major controversy ensued.

Terming the death of the 35-year-old woman and the hospitalisation of her son as "a very painful episode", the Janasena founder said the deceased woman and her family wanted to have a nice evening, return home, and share the experience, but it ended tragically.

Though some opined that the Telangana government could have handled the issue more softly, Kalyan noted that the law "does not give preferential treatment to anyone, including him."