Dil Raju Visits Tirumala, Addresses Film Industry Disputes and Pawan Kalyan Controversy

Dil Raju, the famous producer and Chairman of Telangana Film Development Corporation, visited the Tirumala Sri Venkateswara temple. He arrived at Tirumala with his family on Tuesday morning and took part in the VIP special darshan of Lord Venkateswara Swamy. After offering prayers and completing the rituals, officials gave him the sacred prasadam (holy offering) from the deity.

Speaking about the ongoing controversy between the Telugu film industry and the Andhra Pradesh government, Dil Raju said that no one has the courage to stop Pawan Kalyan’s film. He referred to Pawan Kalyan, the top hero and Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister, as a respected elder brother and said only he has the right to criticize because he is hurt. Dil Raju held a media meeting at his office in Hyderabad on Monday to respond to Pawan Kalyan’s remarks. He said no one from the industry has met the AP Chief Minister yet and stressed that everyone in the industry must stand united. He also mentioned that the news about theaters shutting down from June 1 was false, and that exhibitors had not supported this claim.

Dil Raju explained that the problems started in East Godavari district on April 19, where exhibitors and distributors held a meeting and suggested a percentage-based revenue model. However, the distributors did not agree, and soon after the release date of the movie "Harihar Veeramallu" was announced and later postponed. This dispute then spread to Telangana. Exhibitors raised these issues to chamber officials, and on May 18, a chamber meeting was held where Dil Raju intervened to stop the theater shutdown planned for June 1. He added that the news about the shutdown was a misunderstanding and that the issue was diverted due to the controversy surrounding the "Harihar Veeramallu" movie. He firmly stated that no one has the guts to stop Pawan Kalyan’s film and that except for the COVID period, he had never seen such a shutdown in his experience.