07 October,2025 06:33 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Rishab Shetty
Kannada actor and director Rishab Shetty, who is currently basking in the success of his latest film, Kantara Chapter 1, which is has been on a record-breaking spree. The actor recently reacted to the unfortunate incident that killed over 40 people in Karur during a rally of actor-turned-politician Vijay.
The Kannada star was asked to comment on the hero worship tradition that reaches another level when it comes to cinephiles in the south of India, where there are temples of MG Ramachandran and life-size cut-outs of Rajinikanth are bathed with milk whenever the superstar's movie hits the theatres. When asked about the role of such 'hero worship' in the stampede in Karur during Vijay's TVK rally, Rishab Shetty told NDTV, "If we like a hero or his character, we do hero worship. How can I comment on that (the stampede)? It's unfortunate when these accidents happen, around 40 people died there".
The Kantara Chapter 1 actor said one single person cannot be held accountable for an accident like the Karur tragedy. "I don't think it could be one person's mistake, maybe it was a collective mistake made by many. Maybe it could have been controlled. That's why we call it an accident. It was not intentional. We should take precautions... But who will control a mob? How can I comment on that? We can easily blame the police or government; they also have a responsibility. But sometimes they will also have trouble (controlling the crowd)" he noted.
41 people died and at least 60 were injured in the stampede during Tamil actor Vijay's political rally in Karur on September 27. As per the state police, a crowd of around 30,000 people gathered at a venue which had a capacity of about 10,000. Security guidelines were also violated, while proper arrangements for food and drinking water were not available. All this added up to the tragedy.
A day after the incident, actor Vijay announced a compensation of Rs 20 lakh for the families of those killed, and Rs 2 lakh for the injured. His statewide tour was also suspended.
