All shows of Chiranjeevi’s Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy (Telugu), which released in India and other parts of the world on 2 October, were cancelled on the weekend in Ontario, Canada, after two separate incidents occurred in the cities of Whitby and Kitchener on Friday, 4 October.
According to local reports, on Friday afternoon at around 1 pm, a theatre at Landmark Cinemas in Kitchener was cleared after a “noxious substance” was released inside. About two hours later, a similar incident occurred at a theatre in Whitby.
According to CBC News, “Police reported that a man entered the theatre during the screening of Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, used an object to cut the movie screen and sprayed people with what police believe was bear spray (pepper spray).”
Officers are now searching for a man between 25 and 30 years old, with a thin build and a black beard. During the time of the incidents, he was wearing black pants, a black hooded sweater, light grey shoes and gold-rimmed eyeglasses, police said. All shows of Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy (Telugu version) in Ontario have been cancelled as police raised concerns over the possibility of someone being seriously injured or killed if more incidents like these happen.
A few social media users have alleged that the incidents could be the work of a local syndicate, who used to distribute regional films among their own chain of theatres, to deter larger distributors from eating into their business. However, there has been no word from authorities to substantiate these claims.
Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy revolves around the life of Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy, who led a rebellion against the British East India Company in the 19th century. The film stars Chiranjeevi, Amitabh Bachchan, Tamannaah, Anushka Shetty, Nayanthara, Sudeep, Vijay Sethupathi and Jagapathi Babu.
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