Fans of actor-politician Pawan Kalyan on Tuesday tried to attack actor and producer Posani Krishna Murali for his remarks against the Jana Sena Party chief. Pawan's fans reached the Hyderabad Press Club where Posani was addressing a news conference. They raised slogans against him. This led to tension. The protesters, including workers of Pawan's Jana Sena party, tried to barge into the hall where Posani was, but police foiled their bid by taking them into custody. Police also escorted Posani safely to his house in a police vehicle. The actor alleged that he faced a threat to his life from Pawan Kalyan's fans.
Posani, also a screenwriter and producer, said if anything happens to him, Pawan Kalyan will be responsible. He said he would lodge a complaint with the police on Wednesday. Posani, who alleged that Pawan Kalyan's fans can't digest criticism, claimed to have received thousands of abusive phone calls and messages during the last 24 hours.
A supporter of Andhra Pradesh's ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), he had made certain remarks against the leading actor and Jana Sena leader on Monday. Reacting to Pawan's attacks on the YSRCP government over the issue of online sale of movie tickets, Posani had stated that Pawan Kalyan does not have the stature to speak about Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
He also alleged that a noted Tollywood personality cheated a Punjabi actress by impregnating her and asked Pawan to demand justice for the girl. Though Posani did not name the celebrity who cheated her, YSRCP supporters started tweeting with the hashtag #JusticeForPunjabGirl and soon it became one of the top trends on Twitter.
At Tuesday's press conference, Posani said while criticism and counter criticism is common in politics, speaking out of personal vendetta is not proper. He alleged that Pawan Kalyan was resorting to personal attacks. He made it clear that he will respond to any criticism of Jagan Mohan Reddy as he is a big fan of the YSRCP leader, and Pawan Kalyan was neither a leader of the people nor of the film industry.
The actor also revealed that differences between him and Pawan Kalyan cropped up during the shooting of Gabbar Singh. He narrated an incident which occurred during the shooting when Pawan Kalyan turned up on the sets very late and got angry with him for leaving the sets before his arrival. He alleged that following this incident, Pawan Kalyan got him removed from the movie.