Vijayawada: A grand pre-release function planned for Khaidi No.150 on Wednesday in Vijayawada was cancelled after the government denied permission on Monday. The administration cited the reason that there is a High Court order that the stadium is meant only for sports and games.

The program is rescheduled for Jan 7 and the venue may be either Vijayawada outskirts or Guntur. However, the organizers are yet to zero in on the venue.

Megastar's son actor Ram Charan Tej is producing the movie on Konidela Production Company banner and the film is slated for release on January 11 for Sankranti. To create a momentum before the release, a grand pre-release function was planned at Indira Gandhi Municipal Corporation Stadium (IGMCS) in Vijayawada on January 4. However, the district administration denied permission for the event at the venue as IGMCS is intended only for sports and games.

Chiru's fans' associations that were already making elaborate arrangements to make the event a success fumed at the decision. They were looking forward to the pre-release function after Chiru let them down by choosing not to hold an audio release function. Some of them lost patience on Sunday and staged a protest at Gandhi Nagar, accusing the district administration of deliberately dilly-dallying and citing security concerns, traffic issues on the MG road.

According to sources, the function may be shifted to Haailand near Chinakakani or Brahmananda Reddy Stadium in Guntur. The tentative date of the event has been decided as January 7.

The film unit is expected to make an official announcement in this regard. It is learnt that a team from the film unit is also planning to visit the K L University campus on Monday to check if it would be suitable for the mega function.

A decade ago, Chiru's blockbuster movie, Indra, celebrated its 175-day function in Vijayawada and Chandrababu Naidu, who was also the then chief minister had graced the occasion as chief guest.

However, sports associations fear that conducting the pre-release event of the film may damage the IGMCS, which is already in a bad shape.