Ram Gopala Varma conducted a survey to know the feeling of viewers on the delay in the release of Lakshmi's NTR in Andhra Pradesh and 74 per cent of the viewers say they are angry and sad.
Amid huge hype and expectations, Lakshmi's NTR was released in a large number of screens across the globe on March 29. But the TDP-led government got its release delayed in Andhra Pradesh till April 15, claiming that it shows Nara Chandrababu Naidu in a bad light and it will affect the voters in upcoming general elections in the state. However, some viewers from AP went to other states to watch the film.
Three days after it hit the screens, producer Rakesh Reddy and his legal team knocked the doors of the Supreme Court seeking to revoke the stay on the release of Lakshmi's NTR in Andhra Pradesh. But the court declined to immediate hearing of this case and this news came as big disappointment for the audience, who are desperately waiting for its release in the state.
A day later, Ram Gopal Varma informed that the AP distributors, who feared of suffering losses from Lakshmi's NTR, were moving the High court on April 2. The director tweeted, "All Andhra Pradesh distributors led by producer/distributorNatty Kumar are moving High court against the stay on #LakshmisNTR because of huge losses for them."
On April 2, Ram Gopal Varma tweeted a picture featuring the empty roads in the state and wrote, "AP people got upset because of delay in #LakshmisNTR release and boycotted his roadshow."
Going a step further, Ram Gopal Varma held a poll on his Twitter account, asking his followers, "Are you people in AP feeling angry and sad about delay of #LakshmIsNTR?" He gave two options like yes and no. This 24-hour-long survey has attracted 16,476 votes in just four hours and 74 percent of these voters say that they are sad about the delay in its release."
Ram Gopal Varma's Twitter poll also received 1,069 likes, 206 replies and 136 retweets in four hours. An upset fan named Santhosh (@Santhos10413947) replied to the director, "It's really dumb that the government is stopping the release of lakshmi's NTR in Andhra, I mean they are afraid, it clearly shows."
Many filmgoers are hoping that Lakshmi's NTR will hit the screens in the state at least in the coming week. There is no clarity on whether the Supreme Court and the High Court have heard the pleas of its producers and distributors. Ram Gopal Varma is yet to provide clarification on its release in the second week.
