Guess who is the villain of the latest James Bond movie, ‘Skyfall’? At least for 007 fans in Thiruvananthapuram, ‘he’ is the ongoing theatre strike. The much-expected release of ‘Skyfall’ scheduled for Friday has been indefinitely postponed owing to the theatre strike.
‘Skyfall’ was scheduled to be released at Sree Padmanabha, Athulya and New theatres in the city on Friday. According to the managements of these theatres, the release of the film has been postponed. “The release has been put off till the strike ends,” one of the theatre owners said.
Theatres affiliated to the Kerala Film Exhibitors’ Federation began the indefinite strike on Friday demanding an increase in service charge. More than 300 theatres in the state remained closed during the day. However, Bond fans in other parts of the state are not as disappointed. Some theatres which are not affiliated to the federation in Kochi and Kozhikode are showing ‘Skyfall’ from November 1.
Chintu, working at a software firm in the city, said that she felt let down over the postponement of the release. An ardent fan of Bond movies and Daniel Craig, Chintu was waiting for the release of the movie. “Some of my friends in the office have booked tickets for the movie. All are disappointed,” Chintu, who never misses Bond movies, said.
‘Skyfall’ comes out with much expectations as it releases during the 50th anniversary of ‘Dr No’ and the launch of the Bond film series.
Now, film buffs are anxiously waiting for the end of the theatre strike. The release of a number of Malayalam movies too has been affected. Some fan association members staged a protest in front of theatres in the city on Friday.