Ram Gopal Varma detained by police in Vijayawada, sent back to Hyderabad

Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma was detained at the Vijayawada international airport on Monday, and sent back to Hyderabad. The filmmaker was planning an open press conference about his film Lakshmi's NTR in the city. 

The film has been pushed to a release on 1 May, after the Election Commission of India cited the model code of conduct as a reason to prevent its earlier scheduled release. 

Varma had planned a press conference in Vijayawada on 29 April. However, the director accused people in power of preventing him from speaking about the film after cancellations at the hotel. 

On Sunday morning, the director tweeted that he would be holding an open press conference for 'fans and media' at the NTR circle in Vijayawada. 

However, he was detained by the police on landing at the Vijayawada international airport. A report in The Newsminute.com quoted the ASI from Gannavaram (Vijayawada airport region) saying, "Since he announced that he would hold a meeting on the street, there was fear that there might be some unrest and violence at the venue. Our station received orders from the commissioner of police to send Ram Gopal Varma back to Hyderabad." 

This did not prevent the filmmaker from taking to social media to allege political interference. 

The filmmaker followed it up with a tweet threatening to 'go to court' if he is not provided the reasons for not being allowed to talk about his film in Vijayawada. 

Lakshmi's NTR is scheduled for release in theatres on 1 May.