The incident was reported by Kollywood actor Shanthanu Bhagyaraj on Twitter

Fanfare hit a new low in Tamil cinema when an Ajith Kumar fan tried to set himself ablaze for a bizarre reason: non-availability of tickets for his Thala’s Nerkonda Paarvai, which hit screens today. The incident was reported by actor Shanthanu Bhagyaraj on Twitter last night. He wrote, “I don’t know what to say. At Sathyam Theatre, a man next to me tried to set himself ablaze because he couldn't get tickets for Nerkonda Paarvai. No star would encourage this. It’s your life against a movie ticket. Police have arrested him (sic).” The man in question was later taken into police custody, said Shanthanu.

I DONT KNW WAT TO SAY!

At #Sathyam now where a man RIGHT NXT TO ME was bathing in petrol&searching fr a matchstick to burn himself bcz of sme ticket issue for #NKP#THALA or any othr STAR will def not encourage this!

It’s ur life against a movie ticket

Police have arrested him nw — Shanthnu Buddy (@imKBRshanthnu) August 7, 2019

Shortly after his tweet, Shanthanu, who’s a self-confessed fan of Vijay, was trolled by Ajith’s fans for posting that incident on Twitter. Later in a tweet, he clarified that his intention was not to "spread negativity" around Nerkonda Paarvai. “Requesting others not to troll about the incident I mentioned. This was to bring awareness and not spread negativity. Someone’s life was involved. A movie is meant to be enjoyed and not do things like this. Let’s go to theatres and enjoy NKP.”

Nerkonda Paarvai is the Tamil remake of Bollywood film Pink and stars Ajith Kumar, Shraddha Srinath, Vidya Balan, Abirami Venkatachalam and Rangaraj Pandey in key roles. Directed by H Vinoth, the film has opened to positive reviews from critics and audiences alike.