With no late night previews, Pawan Kalyan fans had to settle for the government order allowing five shows per day in Hyderabad.
It is the first big Telugu film of 2018 and the first to kick off the Sankranti line-up for film buffs. The hype surrounding Agnyaathavasi , spearheaded by writer-director Trivikram Srinivas and headlined by Pawan Kalyan, had reached a crescendo before its release on Wednesday. In a few other pockets of Andhra Pradesh, the film had premieres as early as 1 a.m. Pawan Kalyan fans were hopeful of a similar possibility in Hyderabad. However, with police permissions not coming through, they had to settle for the government order allowing theatres to screen five shows per day during the first week, till January 17.
A festive atmosphere prevailed at theatres screening Agnyaathavaasi on Wednesday morning with fans sporting t-shirts printed with ‘Pawanism’, chanting his name and airing their views to television channels outside the cinema halls.
Despite the eagerness to see the film, it was evident that the enthusiasm was dampened by the not-so-good feedback trickling in from the early premieres in other regions and the U.S.
Sankranti had witnessed substantial cash flows for Telugu cinema in the last few years, with many of the big releases succeeding at the box office. This year, Agnyaathavasi will be followed by Jai Simha starring Balakrishna on January 12 and Rangula Ratnam directed by Sri Ranjani and starring Raj Tarun on January 14. Suriya-starrer Gang , dubbed from the Tamil film Thaana Serndha Koottam , is also releasing on Jan. 12.
