http://sify.com/movies/telugu/fullstory.php?id=13490560

NTR`s son shoots down producer!

By Moviebuzz
Friday, 04 June , 2004, 08:54


N T Rama Rao's actor son Balakrishna shot producer Bellamkonda Suresh Babu and an astrologer Satyanarayana Chowdary at 8:50 pm on June 3. Both were admitted to Apollo Hospital at 9 pm. Their condition is critical as bullets hit them on the chest. Six rounds of bullets were fired at them. (Discuss: Telugu producers should take tough action against Balakrishna, including a boycott of his films.)

Only two days before the shoot-out, Balakrishna, also called Balayya, had held a press conference in Hyderabad to announce that he has recovered from a recent injury and he will be shooting for Konda Krishna Raju’s untitled film by the end of the month.

Balayya’s birthday party, which falls on June 10, was to be celebrated at Ramakrishna Horticultural studio in a big way. The shoot-out has shocked the entire Telugu industry.

What triggered the shooting remains a mystery at the moment. But it is common knowledge that Balakrsihna had fallen out with Bellamkonde over the publicity of their last film Lakshmi Narasimha.

A fan of Balayya had even committed suicide because the producer had not given enough publicity to the film and had not celebrated the 100 days of the film in the promised number of theatres.

The fans had squarely blamed Bellamkonde for the film not doing well as they predicted after it took a bumper opening last Sankranthi. Balayya was also rumoured to have opted out of the Arul remake after Bellamkonde had purchased the rights for a fancy price.

However, Balakrishna was also admitted to the ICU around 11:30 pm after he complained of bleeding hands. Police are yet to take a statement from the actor since he is under sedation. And so far there has not been any complaint registered with the police about the shoot-out!