Rajinikanth’s Kabali released amid fanfare on Friday. Though the movie opened to mixed reviews, hardcore fans throughout the country assembled outside the theatres early in the morning to celebrate the day’s first show.
Parking areas were brimming with cars and bikes, and people stood in long queues to watch the Rajinikanth-starrer. “I was not in town for a week, so I couldn’t book the tickets. But you won’t believe my luck; I got tickets for the first show itself. There were a group of students who had two extra tickets; I got it from them and that too without any extra charge. Even God wants me to watch Rajni sir on the first day,” says a fan, Nagaraju.
Dressed in their finery, a group of ladies, shouting for Rajini and that too outside a multiplex, is a rare scenario. “My colleagues and I got a day off from work and also a treat to watch Kabali in the theatre, all sponsored by the company,” grins Neelima. “I am a huge Rajini fan, and I didn’t want to miss it. So, I booked tickets for all my employees, and it was a surprise for them! I told them once they came into office in the morning!” says the owner of a consultancy, Alok Singh.
However, fans of the Superstar, who have been waiting for the release of his first movie in two years, expected a lot more from the flick. “We waited for ages to get the tickets. The movie, however, was just okay. We were expecting more from the storyline, but it was fine. Ranjinikanth’s acting was amazing — a 10/10 for him,” said Spandana, who watched the movie with her group of friends.
Fans watching FDFS
The theater owners clearly want to cash in on the Rajini mania and made a killing by selling Kabali tickets at exorbitant prices, which has disappointed hardcore fans of the Superstar. Normally, early morning special shows of any big stars’ films on FDFS are occupied only by ardent fans of the actor — but the scenario was different for Kabali!
With the average ticket costing Rs 600, most ardent fans were disappointed that they couldn’t afford the tickets on the first day. They were sold even as high as Rs 1200 even at an ordinary theater in the city. On Friday morning, thousands of Rajini fans at theaters like Udhayam, Kasi etc. were creating a ruckus and seen removing banners and cutouts of Rajinikanth from the areas. They were angry over not getting tickets for the FDFS — but did not blame Superstar, but the makers! Said Raju, “The FDFS is meant for fans like us. We only paste the posters, erect the banners and do everything else for our Thalaivar, but we were ignored!”
Some fans attributed the unavailability of tickets to them being sold in bulk to corporates and big businesses. “Do the IT companies have anything to do with Rajinikanth? Why do the makers want to sell the FDFS tickets to them?” asks Rajini Babu angrily. Murugan added, “We are not blaming our Thalaivar. This is happening without his knowledge.” Reportedly, the police were also controlling the crowd with mild lathi charge.
The crowd’s frenzy went overboard soon — and after a point, they started removing banners, posters and cutouts — and took it with them! Soon, all of them left the venue yelling, “We don’t want to see Rajini sir’s movie. We want to boycott it!”
However, those who were lucky or smart enough to catch the FDFS — were there to watch Rajini, and not the movie. “It was nice, but also very slow. If you are a Rajini fan, you will love the movie. But, if you are a movie fan, it will definitely dissapoint you,” said Sidharth.
Medical students Kavya and Suchitha, who skipped college to watch the movie, agree with Sidharth. “I expected so much more from the movie. The story was a little dissapointing. We just enjoyed seeing Rajini on the big screen after a long time,” said Kavya.
Despite all this, the Rs 100-crore budget movie is expected to earn almost Rs 200 crore in two days of its release. Whatever may the verdict go regarding the film, Kabali did rock the city on the first day itself!
Kabali leak and negative reviews lead to tickets being cancelled
A special-themed flight. Restaurants and pubs across the country naming dishes/ cocktails and celebrating nights in honour of the phenomenon. Offices declaring holidays for their employees. A marketing masterclass that was hitherto unseen before. Records broken worldwide. And of course, a Superstar who was not even on Indian shores during the release of probably his most hyped-film ever.
But all this couldn’t prevent Kabali from being leaked online on the morning of its release — adding fuel to the fire of disappointed reviews that swept the online cyberspace after fans thronged the early screenings. It led to several people even cancelling their already-purchased tickets or selling them to others, in the wake of feedback from friends. At this rate, despite the crazy number of advance bookings, looks like tickets may be available at the counters as early as Monday!
