A major ruckus erupted at Rohini Cinemas in Chennai following a clash between Ajith and Vijay fans this morning. Following this, police interrupted and lathi-charged the fans to take control of the situation. A video circulating on social media shows fans of both superstars tearing posters, hoarding and even trying to set them ablaze. There are reports that fan wars took place in many other cinema halls across the city.

Thunivu
Thunivu

Ajith and Vijay are clashing at the box office almost after nine years. Ajith's Thunivu is a bank heist thriller helmed by H Vinoth while Vijay's Varisu is an emotional drama directed by Vamsi Padipall. The last time the actors clashed at the box office was in 2014 Pongal.

It was Ajith's Veeram vs Vijay's Jilla, and the rest is a known story. Their rivalry on-screen dates back to 1996 when Vijay's Coimbatore Mapla clashed with Ajith's Vanmathi. However, both the actors were struggling stars looking to crave a place for themselves. 

Varisu
Vijay's Varisu

To be precise, a full-fledged fan war began only in 2001 when Ajith's Dheena clashed with Vijay's Friends. Interestingly, both films opened with positive feedback and were a huge success. Dheena is indeed an important film in Ajith's career, probably the first time he was seen in a mass hero avatar. And of course, he was christened Thala after the film. The rivalry peaked with Villain vs Bhagavathi, Anjaneya vs Thirumalai, Paramasivan vs Aadhi, and Aalwar vs Pokiri.

The first-day first show of Varisu and Thunivu was scheduled as early as 1 am and 4 am respectively.