A fire broke out at a movie theatre in Tadepaligudem in Andhra Pradesh’s West Godavari during a screening of Prabhas’s 2009 film Billa, as fans set off fireworks inside the cinema hall. The movie screening was organised by Prabhas fans on the occasion of the star’s birthday on Sunday, October 23. Enthusiastic fans cut a cake and set off fireworks inside the Venkatarama theatre in Tadepalligudem while the movie was being screened. Suddenly, a fire broke out and several seats were burnt. The audience ran out in panic as smoke filled the theatre. Employees of the theatre began attempts to put out the fire while waiting for the fire services.
According to sources, the Venkatrama theatre had been shut down a while ago. A Prabhas fans association had reportedly booked the theatre for a special screening of Billa, which has been re-released on the occasion of the actor’s 43rd birthday. The fans reportedly lit a string of firecrackers, which led to the fire. While no casualties or major injuries were reported, a few seats in the theatre were damaged.
Earlier in March 2021, during the release of the trailer for Pawan Kalyan’s Vakeel Saab, the actor’s fans were seen pushing through the doors and rushing into the theatre, resulting in a stampede-like situation at a theatre in Visakhapatnam. Scores of men were seen jostling and rushing forward, and even breaking a glass partition. A few fans were seen falling on the broken glass before they were helped up and continued to rush into the theatre. The incident occurred at the Sangam Sarat dual-screen theatre in Vizag.
Tollywood has lately witnessed a trend of re-releases of popular actors’ past hits on their birthdays. Earlier this year, actor-politician Pawan Kalyan’s Jalsa (2008) was re-released. Mahesh Babu’s Pokiri (2006) and Balakrishna’s Chennakesava Reddy (2002) were also re-released for special fan shows on the actors’ birthdays.