Movie-goers who thronged city theatres at the crack of dawn on Friday to watch the first-day-first-show of Baahubali - The Conclusion were left disappointed.
They had to wait till afternoon to know the answer for the gnawing question ‘Why did Kattappa kill Baahubali?’ as morning shows for the sequel of Baahubali - The Conclusion were cancelled in Chennai.
Film buffs who had gathered at a theatre in Koyambedu as early as 5 a.m. were unhappy when they were informed that morning shows had been cancelled. The wait will get longer for those who had booked tickets online for early morning shows as tickets have been sold out for nearly 10 days now.
According to sources, the film screening was suspended in the morning owing to financial issues between the distributors in the State and the producers.
The city’s theatres finally screened the film after 11 a.m. The film was released in 650 screens across the State.
Excited fans queued up before the counters and waited for more than an hour at various places, including Royapettah, to watch S.S. Rajamouli’s magnum opus.
M. Jesudas, a resident of Villivakkam, travelled to three theatresto catch the first show. “I left home at 9 a.m. and checked for counter booking in theatres at Villivakkam and Royapettah. I finally got two of the last few tickets left at Woodlands theatre for the 11.30 a.m. show,” he said.
According to theatre owners, though the film release was delayed, it turned out to be one of the biggest blockbusters in recent times as it received a rousing response from the audience.
‘Abirami’ Ramanathan, president of the Chennai city Theatre Owners Association, said the shows were cancelled as the film was uploaded for screening only after 10 a.m. on Friday.
Confusion remained over the screening of the film on Saturday if the dues owed to the distributors were not paid.
Refund of tickets
R. Panneerselvam, general secretary, Tamil Nadu Theatre Owners Association, said, “Two early morning shows had to be cancelled and the ticket amount will be refunded to those who booked online. We had permission to screen only four shows on Friday. There is a possibility for shows to be cancelled on Saturday if the issue is not sorted out.”
