An Indian film star has been arrested after his appearance at a movie screening allegedly prompted a stampede by fans that crushed a woman to death, according to police and local media.

WARNING: This story contains footage some readers may find distressing.

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

The unscheduled appearance, during which Arjun waved to the crowd outside the theatre for about 15 minutes, allegedly caused hundreds of people to begin pushing to get closer to the actor, after which his security team began to push the crowd back.

A woman in her 30s and her son were among several people pulled from the resulting crowd crush by police, who performed emergency first aid on the pair and took them to hospital.

The woman later died, while her son remains seriously injured.

Their family later filed a complaint against Arjun, his security team and theatre management, according to English-language local media outlet India Today.

Arjun, 42, was arrested on Friday on suspicion of three offences, a police officer told the news agency AFP, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to media.

The charges include voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means, the officer said, adding that seven other people had been arrested as well as Arjun.

The officer added that seven other people had already been arrested in the case.

A video spreading on social media platform X shows the actor holding a coffee mug as he speaks to officers who arrived at his house to take him into custody.

Speaking two days after the incident, Arjun said he was "deeply heartbroken" by the events at the theatre.

"While respecting [the victims'] 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 made tens of millions at the box office.

He won best actor at India's National Film Awards for his title role in the first instalment of the series, released two years ago.

AFP/ABC