THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It’s true that there are no sky-high cutouts or milk baths, but Baahubali 2 could definitely whip up an outrageous release day frenzy. Online booking were closed within hours and theatres were kept busy with counter reservations and inquiries during the last few days.
The film and all that hype associated with its suspense also garnered a volley of trolls and memes. “Usually I am not a first-day-first-show person. But this time I want to watch the film before any reports come out,” says Anjali, a student.
The pre-booking stated over a week back and those who couldn’t wait to know why Kattappa killed Baahubali were keen to get hold of the tickets at the earliest.
“I do not wish to make guesses anymore. I want to see it for myself,” says Sooraj from Vazhapalli who watched the first part on the day of its release. Kairali, Sree, Nila, Kalabhavan, Sree Padmanabha, Devi Priya, Kripa (two screens), Aries Plex (four screens) are the theatres screening Rajamouli’s Rs 250 crore film.
Aries Plex opened online reservations on last Sunday and tickets for the first three days were sold out in hours. “We started at 12 in the night and by 7 am there wasn’t a single ticket left. It’s a record and it’s the first time since we opened we are having such massive pre-booking,” says Vipin, manager.
Two biggest screens in the theatre, Audi 1 and Audi 5, will have six screenings each starting at 6 am. “We are showing Tamil Baahubali in Audi 1 and 5, but we have Telugu and Malayalam versions in two other screens,” he adds. Since Aries Plex is the biggest screen in India with 4k dual projection and 64-channel atmos, the theatre has an inflow from other states as well.
“When Baahubali 1 was released we had a lot of repeat audience as people wanted to see the spectacle in our giant screen. Now we have group bookings from Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore, especially from film studios and people associated with the industry who want to see it in the best quality possible in India. Even when we re-released Baahubali 1 there was a good crowd forcing us to shift the screening to our biggest screen,” he adds.
The newly-opened Kripa theatre in the city hasn’t started online booking, but as soon as the theatre list was out cine buffs started stopping by. “Even while we haven’t opened our online or counter reservations, there was a considerable crowd in front of the theatre on Thursday morning,” says Ratheesh, manager.
While the release marks an end to the long wait for the the second part, theatre staff are working overtime to meet the demand and handle the crowds. “As soon as the sale of the ticket for the first show ends, the reservation for the next begins. Currently we have to work round the clock,” says Krishnan Kutty who works at Kairali.