With queues snaking along congested roads, firecrackers lighting up theatre entrances and impromptu dances by the silver screen, Rajinikant’s latest film Kabali got a grand reception from fans.
For fans, the day started early. Theatres that being screening the film at 3 a.m. saw long queues and near-peak-hour traffic in the area.
At Balaji theatre in Viveknagar, the first show was at 3 a.m. and was hosted by the local MLA. Nataraj theatre in Sheshadripuram screened the first show at 5 a.m. Over 1,100 fans watched and cheered as soon as their hero came on screen.
Ticket price was clearly not an issue. On average, tickets were sold ‘legally’ for between Rs. 400 and Rs. 800, even in single-screen theatres. And the auction outside theatres for ‘black tickets’ saw the prices go even higher, up to Rs. 1,500 and beyond.
“We were a group of 20. We reached the theatre at 2 a.m. There was dancing and crackers. But the excitement got higher once the movie started. People went to the screen to touch Rajini Sir’s feet,” said Dilip Reddy, a businessman who watched the movie in a theatre on Tumakuru Road. When asked about the possible fate of the movie, his vehement response was: ‘It is a hit’.
As dawn set upon the city, the intersection of eager cinema-goers and office-goers led to traffic jams on J.C. Road, in Sheshadripuram and on Mysuru Road.
First day, first show for a Rajini film has been a tradition for Nivedita Joseph, who has found an eager companion in her brother. This year, however, she brought along her friend Sagar Battalwar, who does not understand Tamil. He insisted on watching it in Hindi, while she preferred the original Tamil in which the actor’s dialogues pack a punch. Eventually, a compromise was reached: watch once in both languages.
It isn’t just distributors and theatre owners who are laughing all the way to the bank. Shiva K.S., a food stall owner at Rex theatre on Brigade Road, says his business nearly doubles during Rajinikant movies.
