An Indian actor has been arrested after his appearance at a film screening allegedly led to a crush of fans in which a woman died, police and local media said.

Huge crowds had gathered at a cinema in the southern city of Hyderabad this month to catch a glimpse of Allu Arjun as he arrived for the screening of his film Pushpa 2: The Rule.

The actor, 42, was arrested on suspicion of three offences – including voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means – a police officer told the AFP news service, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The officer added that seven other people had been arrested.

A video on X, shared by the broadcaster TV9, showed the actor holding a coffee mug at his home as he spoke to officers who had come to arrest him.

The victim of the 4 December crush was a woman in her 30s attending the screening with her son, who was also seriously injured.

The woman’s family later filed a complaint against Arjun, his security team and the venue management, India Today reported.

Arjun said he was “deeply heartbroken” two days after the incident.

“While respecting their need for space to grieve, I stand committed to extend every possible assistance to help them navigate through this challenging journey,” he wrote on X.

Arjun is hugely popular in southern India, and the Pushpa film franchise has been a big commercial success.

He won best actor at India’s National Film Awards for his title role in the first instalment of the series, released in 2021.