Vijay's Mersal, which released in a large number of screens on Wednesday, 18 October, has run into trouble in Karnataka when a Kannada man was allegedly beaten up by a few fans of Vijay thereby irking the pro-Kannada groups.
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As per reports, a Kannadiga was attacked by Vijay fans in front of Sampige theatre in Malleshwaram. Although it is not clear what triggered the fans to assault him, local channels speculated that the victim's comments on Ilayathalapathy might have provoked the fans to manhandle the boy, who is said to be an auto driver.
The pro-Kannada groups condemned the attack and demanded that the screening of Mersal should be stopped with immediate effect in Karnataka until the culprits are arrested. They also protested at the Sampige theatre and got the shows cancelled for the day.
Vatal Nagaraj, president of Kannada Vatal Paksha, demanded the removal of all the cutouts and banners of Mersal in Sampige theatre. "I want the screening of the film to be stopped immediately. If such attacks continue on Kannadigas, we will organise protests across the state demanding Tamil movies to be banned."
He added, "We will ban everything. We do not have any such intention as of now, but if such incidents occur we are forced to take the extreme step."
"There is no clarity on who attacked whom. No case has been filed yet," Malleshwaram police told International Business Times. On enquiring further, "We heard it happened last evening, but everything is under control now." More details are awaited.
Mersal has been acquired by Horizon Studios for Rs 5.5 crore.
