A canteen owner at a theatre screening the movie "Pushpa 2: The Rule" in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior allegedly bit the ear of a man over a dispute on settling the snacks bill, police said.
The incident took place on Sunday when the victim, Shabbir, went to the canteen of Kailash Talkies in Inderganj area during the movie interval to buy food, the police said on Wednesday.
An argument broke out between Shabbir and canteen owner Raju, who accused the former of not paying money, an official said.
The heated exchange escalated into a fight with Raju and his three associates thrashing Shabbir. Raju allegedly bit one of the ears of Shabbir, as per the FIR.
The argument over the payment of food items led to the fight, Additional Superintendent of Police Niranjan Sharma said.
"The canteen owner and his three associates allegedly beat Shabbir and also bit his ear while threatening to kill him," he said.
Shabbir lodged a complaint with police on Monday. A case was registered against three persons on Tuesday based on Shabbir's medical report, he said, adding that further investigation was underway.
Allu Arjun's "Pushpa 2: The Rule" has hit the milestone of ₹ 1,000 crore at the global box office in just six days, making it the fastest Indian film to register the feat, as per its producers.
The Sukumar-directed movie, which is a sequel to 2021's Telugu blockbuster "Pushpa: The Rise", released on December 5 with dubbed versions in Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Bengali and Malayalam.