The much-hyped, much-anticipated, multi-lingual action drama KGF Chapter 2 opened to massive crowds in cities across the country and world on Thursday. Coming four years after the first edition of the movie, the Yash-starrer lived up to the hype, going by the response of theatre-goers.
With over 40 lakh tickets sold on BookMyShow ahead of its release, it opened in over 10,000 screens across the world. Karnataka alone had over 450 screens and 2,500-plus shows for the movie on the first day. It was released on 350 screens in Tamil Nadu, 400 screens in Kerala, 1,000 screens in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and 3,500 screens in North India. On average, the theatres ran six shows on Day 1. Trade analysts said the movie has made over Rs 120 crore on Day 1, and it includes collections of `40 crore in the state.
The theatres showing the movie were decked up in colourful festoons and large cutouts of the star. Crackers were burst inside cinema halls, while fans threw coins and currency notes at the screen accompanied by hoots, applause and whistles at regular intervals.
Theatres houseful, fans hand out sweets
Fans of Rocking Star, as Yash is called, performed pujas to screens and to his cutouts in most cinemas, especially at Triveni Theatre in Gandhinagar.
Processions with drums were taken out with fans dancing to the tunes of the movie songs. They distributed sweets and fed people in droves. The first show was scheduled at midnight and fans stayed up to catch the action-filled flick. The early morning screenings saw unprecedented crowds across the state.
A distributor in Karnataka was delighted to see the theatres full and said that it has been a long wait after the difficult period of Covid pandemic. Shobha, who watched the film at Urvashi theatre along with her family, said she enjoyed the movie. The mother-son connect in KGF 1 hit a chord with her, and she desperately wanted to watch KGF Chapter 2, which had an equal impact, she added.
Housefull boards were seen at almost all theatres. Crowds were huge at Prasanna, Veeresh and Navarang. At Vaishnavi, Vaibhavi, Mukta and A2 cinemas in Uttarahalli people from different age groups came to watch Rocky Bhai’s performance.
An all-woman gang, mostly young girls, had booked the entire show at Venkateshwara theatre in Kengeri. They performed a puja to the screen and poured milk on Yash’s cutouts. The film is directed by Prashanth Neel and produced by Vijay Kiragandur under Hombale Films.
Wishes poured in from personalities from across the state and country. Yash’s performance is strong and stylish that is engaging and entertaining. The film gets good support from Srinidhi Shetty, Raveena Tandon, Sanjay Dutt, and Achyuth Kumar, among the cast. But it is not curtains down for the KGF franchise, with Prashanth Neel hinting at KGF Chapter 3!