Fans consider Tamil cinema’s two leading actors Vijay and Ajith to be rivals, and they have been compared for years. Vijay and Ajith’s ‘Varisu‘ and ‘Thunivu’ were released in theatres together today (Jan 11) for Pongal, and the so-called rivals clash at the box office after 9 years. However, police have lathi-charged Vijay-Ajith fans in several locations. ‘Varisu’ and ‘Thunivu’ are now streaming in theatres around the world, and several theatres are streaming both films. Both films’ FDFS opened early in the morning between 1 and 4 a.m., with ‘Thunivu’ starting even earlier.
However, it created a problem for theatre owners because both groups of fans gathered in large numbers at the same time. Warmed-up fans couldn’t keep their cool, and they got into a brawl. Ajith fans who saw ‘Thunivu’ in a Rohini theatre in Chennai reportedly tore down a banner of Vijay’s ‘Varisu’ that had been placed in the theatres. This infuriated Vijay fans, who tore most of the banners of Ajith’s ‘Thunivu’ kept at the theatre. This sparked an on-field brawl between the two fans, and police officers were called in to mediate the situation. To calm the situation, police lathi-charged Vijay and Ajith fans, while several fans were severely beaten.
On the other hand, Ajith fans who arrived for the ‘Thunivu’ FDFS in a Coimbatore theatre broke the front glass entrance, and police lathi-charged the fans for their aggressive behavior. Several fans entered a Pondicherry theatre screening of ‘Thunivu’ without tickets, delaying the start of the show. Police then entered the arena to remove the unauthorized entrants. Meanwhile, the start of ‘Thunivu’ was delayed in several locations, and the 1 AM shows began more than 30 minutes later.
