The daring demolition of the N-Convention Centre, owned by popular Tollywood celebrity Akkineni Nagarjuna, by the Revanth Reddy government in Telangana on Saturday has sent shockwaves through political and film circles.
Typically, political parties in power maintain cordial relations with the Tollywood industry and avoid conflicts with celebrities.
However, since Revanth Reddy came to power in December 2023, his relationship with the film industry, which enjoyed significant support from the government during the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) regime, has been strained.
Among Tollywood heroes, Nagarjuna was believed to be particularly close to BRS president and former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), his son K T Rama Rao, and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.
While Jagan was in power, Nagarjuna flew by a special flight to Tadepalli for a personal meeting with the YSRCP chief.
Even after the BRS lost power and KCR was hospitalized for a leg fracture, Nagarjuna visited Yashoda Hospital to wish him a speedy recovery.
This fueled speculation that Nagarjuna did not have good relations with Revanth Reddy, who had, in fact, raised the issue of demolishing N-Convention in the state assembly when the BRS was in power.
He alleged that the convention centre was constructed illegally, violating the Full Tank Level (FTL) regulations of Tummidi Cheruvu, and challenged the KCR government to demolish it.
A few weeks after Revanth Reddy became Chief Minister, Nagarjuna attempted to reconcile with him. He, along with his wife Amala, met Revanth Reddy at his residence for a courtesy call. It is not known whether the issue of N-Convention was discussed.
After nearly nine months, Revanth Reddy ordered the demolition of N-Convention Centre through the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA), led by IPS officer A V Ranganath. The structure was reportedly built on 3.5 acres of encroached land belonging to Tummidi Cheruvu.
Nagarjuna approached the High Court for an interim stay but did not succeed.
“Even during the early days of the BRS regime, KCR said he would demolish N-Convention. But Nagarjuna managed to stall it with the then-government. Now, he couldn't do the same with the Congress government,” an analyst said.
Apparently, Revanth Reddy wants to show that he is different from KCR and that he cannot be taken for granted by Tollywood, unlike his predecessor.
