Allu Arjun’s unexpected arrest on Friday stirred the film industry. The Hyderabad police, on December 13, arrested the ‘Pushpa 2’ star in connection to a stampede death case that took place on December 4. After the lower court’s remand of 14 days, the High Court gave Allu Arjun an interim bail of four weeks. However, due to paperwork delay, the actor returned from jail on Saturday, December 14. Following the actor’s release, the box office of ‘Pushpa 2’ saw a massive jump. This made several netizens speculate a connection between the two events. Additionally, trade analyst Raman Bala has also weighed in on the discussion.

Following Allu Arjun’s arrest on Friday, the sales of ‘Pushpa 2’ saw a 70% jump on Saturday. As per Sacnilk, the Friday domestic collection of ‘Pushpa: The Rule’ stood at 36.4 crores. On the other hand, the title racked up 63.3 crores on Saturday and 76.6 crores on Sunday. As per a report by India Today, trade analyst Raman Bala opines, “Yes, there is chatter about the arrest, boosting the collection. The movie picked up well, post the arrest.” He acknowledged that the star’s arrest may have inadvertently contributed to the film’s box office. “Any publicity is good publicity, even bad publicity. People were curious about the incident, which may have driven some to watch the film. That being said, the weekend would likely have seen an uptick regardless.”

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Bala added, “A lot of people are sympathetic towards Allu Arjun. He announced compensation to the family and was not directly responsible for the unfortunate incident. The crowd surge and stampede were accidental and not intentional. Audiences are not boycotting the movie or blaming Allu Arjun for it. The incident happened on the very first day. We haven’t seen any dip in the collections because of the incident and its collections remain phenomenal.”

Since then, several netizens have taken to social media to reflect on the arrest. One user wrote, “Arrest is all about strategy for hype and collections.” Another wrote, “When he was smiling while getting arrested, I knew it was a PR stunt”. One user drew parallels to Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt and wrote, “Bhau to jel jake Sanjay Dutt bn gaya”.

Also Read: Allu Arjun to join politics? Actor’s team responds to rumours

Meanwhile, ‘Pushpa 2’ released on December 5 and has racked up impressive numbers at the box office. With just 11 days of run, the title emerged as the biggest Indian film of the year, grossing 1409 crores worldwide. ‘Pushpa: The Rule’ is the sequel to the 2021 blockbuster ‘Pushpa: The Rise.’ Mythri Movie Makers has produced the film with Sukumar as the creator. The title sees Allu Arjun, Fahadh Faasil, and Rashmika Mandanna, reprising their roles as Pushpa Raj, Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat, and Srivalli, respectively.