One never gets to see for Hindi films the kind of frenzy witnessed at the time of release of South Indian language films of some big stars. Fans of those stars make the release no less than an event. And I got to experience one such event last night or, should I say, this morning because technically, Ajith’s Thunivu opened at 1 a.m. today (11th January) across around 150 cinemas in Tamil Nadu. Some shows at 1 a.m. had to be cancelled because the crowds got impatient and unruly, causing a law and order problem. What added to the tension was that to take advantage of the Pongal week, another superstar, Vijay Thalapathi, too had a release, Varisu on the same day. At most of the cinemas, the show of one film followed that of the other film. Needless to add, both the films were launched in the cinemas at unearthly hours (1 a.m. and 4 a.m.)!
Coming back to Thunivu, the fans came in huge numbers to, I suppose, every cinema where the film opened this morning or, as the trade would say, last night. The cinemas we (producer Boney Kapoor, his team and I) went hopping to at a time when we as well as the fans ought to have been sleeping on normal nights were Vettri, Rohini and Sri Ganga. Our first stop was at Vettri cinema where the film was just about to start. Thousands of fans were outside the cinema, not having got tickets for their idol’s film but still unwilling to go home. While one was prepared for the sight outside, what happened inside actually scared me. For, the moment Boney Kapoor stepped inside the auditorium, the fans inside broke into a frenzy. No, they hadn’t mistaken him for Ajith or another star; it was their way of thanking Kapoor whose third film Thunivu is with Ajith in the lead role. The public screamed, shouted, yelled, and pleaded with Boney for selfies. When, after almost ten minutes of mayhem, we finally settled in our seats in the last row, the action on the screen started but not before a crazy fan, supremely excited to see Boney in flesh and blood, almost jumped out of the balcony over our heads. Believe me, for the entire 20 minutes that we were there after that incident to watch the reaction of the crowds to the film, I kept looking up at the balcony, scared that someone would actually fall on my head in sheer excitement. And I was in no mood to reach the hospital in Madras!
On a more serious note, the scene at Rohini was even more uncontrollable. I am now told, one fan died in the fracas that broke out at Rohini cinema between fans of Ajith and Vijay Thalapathi. When our car was supposed to reach Rohini, the manager requested Boney to not come to the cinema as he was ill-equipped to provide the hotshot producer security, such was the volatile atmosphere there. But we wanted to see the fans and their reaction inside the auditorium and hence the car reached Rohini despite the cinema manager’s pleas. The poor manager asked us to wait inside the car for a good 15 minutes before the gate was opened and we were whisked away inside the cinema hall. The film show was in progress, and the audience here, too, were thoroughly enjoying the unfolding drama. Of course, they were unaware that the producer of the film they were so enjoying, was in their midst.
The last stop was Sri Ganga Cinema. The film’s climax had started when we reached inside the auditorium. There was deafening applause each time Ajith uttered a dialogue or exhibited his heroism. We would’ve loved to watch the audience reaction at the fag end but the management was in no mood to take any chances. They asked Boney Kapoor and all of us to get into our car and leave the cinema before the crowds spotted him.
And so, off I was driven back to the hotel, wondering why a producer like Boney Kapoor was even making Hindi films when this was the kind of love he was getting in Tamil filmdom. And I got the answer as soon as the question had cropped up in my mind: of course, for the love of Hindi cinema!