MID-DAY (April 29, 2019)

In a fresh row over his movie Lakshmi’s NTR, controversial filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma was not allowed entry into Vijayawada by the city police after he threatened to address a press conference on the road. Varma tweeted that his car was stopped and he was forced to shift to another car before being dropped at the airport. The filmmaker said the police told him that he can’t enter the city. He alleged that there is no democracy in Andhra Pradesh.

Varma wanted to address a press conference ahead of his film’s release in Andhra Pradesh on May 1. As a star hotel reportedly denied him permission, he announced that he will address the media at NTR Circle. The police said since prohibitory orders were in force in view of the Model Code of Conduct for ongoing Lok Sabha elections, no meeting could be allowed in public and hence they had to send the director back.

Varma was likely to address the media after reaching Hyderabad later that evening. His film Lakshmi’s NTR, was released in Telangana last month, but the Andhra Pradesh High Court stayed its screening till the elections. As simultaneous elections to the Andhra Pradesh Assembly and the Lok Sabha were held on April 11, he announced plans to release the movie on May 1.

The film is about Telugu Desam Party founder and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister NT Rama Rao’s second marriage with Lakshmi Parvathi and the subsequent differences in the family, leading to revolt by his son-in-law N. Chandrababu Naidu in August 1995.