In the pre-dawn hours, there was sound of crackers going off near cinema halls in Hyderabad as Pavan Kalyan fans began trooping in to see the latest offering of the hero: Bheemla Nayak. But the real celebrations were scheduled for the 10 a.m. shows with cracking of coconuts, lighting joss sticks and sprinkling of vermillon on the larger-than-life posters of the hero.
At Eashwar Cinema, fans created a virtual stream of milk as they emptied packets on the poster of the movie. Not surprisingly, it was a sellout crowd with ‘zero’ tickets available at the counters. But there were no disappointed fans as most of them bought tickets online.
Inside the cinema halls, the first few shows were filled with ‘Jai Pavan Kalyan’ and ‘Jai Power Star’ slogans at every dialogue and move of the actor.
At Prasads Multiplex, the ‘Jai Balayya’ shouts were also heard amidst laughter by fans watching the movie. Arjun theatre in Kukatpally, Santosh-Sapna in Abids, Sri Ramulu in Moosapet besides halls in RTC Crossroads area witnessed huge crowds inside and gridlocked traffic outside for a few hours.
“Initially, we asked people to wear masks and made announcements about masks but after sometime it was futile as everyone was shouting and screaming besides bursting crackers,” said an usher at a theatre in Abids.
The rush for tickets and decking up of cinema halls began simultaneously with the pre-launch movie function at Yousufguda on February 23. Police were drafted for the event that saw a massive bandobust to manage the crowds many of whom had streamed in from Andhra Pradesh to see their idol.
“What we are doing is very little. We just pooled money to print this flexi. Of course we have the support of the fans’ association,” said Raghu who got a 40 X40 feet flexboard printed to erect at a cinema hall.
While the cheering and adulation at the beginning of the screening of the movie could be seen and heard, by afternoon, the mood was one of relief among the fans as the movie delivered a gripping storyline, which is an adaptation of Malayalam hit ‘Ayyappanum Koshiyum’.
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