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Despite
all the disputes the two neighbouring states of Karanataka and Tamil
Nadu may continue to have, for superstar Rajnikant they are game to
patch up.
On
the second day of the film's screening in the tech city Bangalore, the
euphoria of "Sivaji: The Boss" is showing no signs to fizz out. The
audience's verdict states the film is a blockbuster.
Hundreds of
people thronged multiplexes and single screen theatres in the state and
police had to resort to a mild baton charge to disperse the crowd from
the Ajantha theatre Friday.
Bangalore liked everything about "Sivaji", though it is a Tamil film, and not a Kannada film.
"The
white Rajni or Mottai Rajni, everything is fresh for us. What a great
film it is," was the instant reaction of a Kannadiga who does not see
any film other than Rajni's.
It looks like the pre-release
jitter for "Sivaji" and the protest by the Karantaka Rakshana Vedike,
which opposed the simultaneous release of the film in KArnataka, will
have no bearing on the collections.
Volunteers of Karnataka
Rakshana Vedike, the strongest pro-Kannada organisation here, Thursday
staged a protest in front of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce,
demanding that Tamil version of "Sivaji" should not be allowed to
release simultaneously, and that a four-week moratorium has to be fixed.
This is how all non-Kannadiga films are released in Karnataka.
Since
Tamil Nadu has not cooperated with Karnataka over sharing of Cauvery
water, some pro-Kannada groups have also been arguing that Tamil films
should not be released on the same day they were released in that
state.
But H.D.Gangaraj, the distributor of the film, who is
also the former president of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce,
says that there is no link between the Cauvery dispute and the release
of "Sivaji".
"Rajni is being seen as a Kannadiga, who has made
it big in the film industry and is an internationally acclaimed star,"
he told IANS.
"Rajni is looked upon more as an actor who had a
humble beginning in Bangalore. And Rajni always speaks in Kannada,
whenever he attends any functions here. He has always encouraged many
talents in the Kannada film industry.
"I think people will see it as Rajni's film than a Tamil film."
The first day report has never been crucial for a Rajni film as all his previous films received mixed response on day one.
The
collections at the end have always proved that all Rajni's films,
except for "Baba", has turned out to be blockbusters in Karnataka. Even
in the case of "Baba", the collections were much higher than the other
Tamil films.
Influential people and Rajni's fans had bought
most of the tickets of "Sivaji", which were sold out as soon as
bookings opened in the state.
Tickets are also being blacked in the state and they are being sold between Rs.1000 to Rs.3000 per ticket.
Indo-Asian News Service
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