Veteran producer Allu Aravind held a press meet on Sunday to publicly clarify his stance on the ongoing theatre- controversy in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Responding to allegations that he is part of a group of four individuals, informally dubbed “AA Naluguru”, accused of lobbying and influencing theatre decisions, Aravind strongly stated, “I am not part of those four. Our company does not own a single theatre in Telangana except AAA. Even in Andhra Pradesh, our lease agreements have ended. Out of the 1500 theatres in both the states, we now operate only about 15 theatres, which are also going to be handed over to someone else soon.”

Dismissing claims of monopolistic control, Aravind added, “I don’t agree with closing theatres; that’s why I didn’t attend the meeting. How can you close theatres just before Pawan Kalyan’s film is releasing? That’s a wild misadventure. He’s the one who supported our industry during tough times.” He also clarified that Geetha Arts, his production house, is focused on filmmaking and not theatrical business.