In an incident reported from the coastal town of Marakkanam in Villupuram district, a heated argument between two young men, over whose favourite movie star donated the most to corona relief funds, has resulted in one of them dying. While 22-year-old Yuvaraj, the deceased, was an ardent Vijay fan, the other, Dinesh Babu (26-years-old), is a Rajinikanth fan. The two men were allegedly childhood friends.
The incident took place on April 23, at about 1.30 in the afternoon when the two of them were arguing about whose favourite movie star donated a higher amount for COVID-19 relief. Speaking to TNM, an official from Marakkanam police station describes the incident. “They began abusing each other and then resorted to physical violence. While Yuvaraj pushed Dinesh Babu down, the latter picked up a stone and hit the former on his right temple, just above his brow.”
Yuvaraj, who was rushed to the nearest government hospital, was declared brought dead. The police have arrested and remanded Dinesh Kumar, who is an engineering graduate. While those present on spot have alleged that the two men may have been inebriated, the police tell TNM that they do not suspect it to be true.
Fan rivalries are common in the state of Tamil Nadu that has reported many instances of clashes between fan clubs of different stars.
Earlier this week, it was reported that actor Vijay, referred to as 'Thalapathy' by his fans, donated Rs 1.3 crore to various coronavirus relief funds set up by the centre and by different state governments in the south. Actor Rajinikanth, referred to as 'Superstar' by his fans, on the other hand, has donated to different film unions with money and with rations. Contributions are also being made through each of the star’s fan club associations. Both the stars enjoy good fan base even outside the state of Tamil Nadu.