Kabalistic in namma nadu

There’s a meme that’s been doing the rounds – Salman Khan says ‘I release movies on Eid because it’s a holiday.’ But cool cat that Rajinikanth is, says, ‘I release a movie, and it turns in to a holiday.’ It’s safe to say that at 65, Thalaivar (as he is fondly called), has still got the style and if you’ve watched the trailer of his latest flick, Kabali, you’d see just why.

A number of offices across the city remain shut today to allow its employees to catch the film on the first day, first show. But that’s just the beginning. Kabali fever is on the rise in Bengaluru and we see what city folk are doing to cure it!

An ardent fan from the city, Vivek Anand K has watched not one, but all of Rajini’s movies, watching films like Thalapathi, Baasha and Mullum Malarum at least a 100 times each! “It was always on my bucket list to watch a Thalaivar film in Chennai and I’m heading there to witness the craze with the local crowd,” says the operations head with a city firm, who even had t-shirts customised for him and his friends for the occasion. “We are watching all the shows we got tickets for – 1 am, 5 am and 1.30 pm on the same day,” he adds.

Speaking of catching the film on the first day, the queues are being formed overnight for tickets. “The multiplexes were full, so I went to Vaibhav Theatre and stood in an all men’s line. Although, I was at the end of the line and it would have taken me hours to reach the front, with no guarantee for a ticket, the guys let me cut and move right to the front – guess it’s the courtesy given to fellow fans,” says Charlotte William, a city-based counselor, whose earliest memories of the Superstar is catching the cult film Padaiyappa with her 75-year-old grandmother!

With a Rajini film hitting the screens after nearly two years, the tickets at local theatres in Bengaluru are selling out for as much as Rs 300 while multiplexes are having a field day with a ticket costing up to Rs 750! Fans don’t seem to mind though. Take Moncy Easudass, a senior tax analyst for instance.

Although, he finds it a waste to shell out money on other films, for a Rajini movie, asking what the tickets are priced at is out of the question. “It’s always been first day, first show for me and I wasn’t going to break the tradition this time,” he says, gearing up to watch the film at 5 am. Moncy even started growing a beard, thanks to Rajini’s new look in the trailer! “We are also heading to the theatre a couple of hours earlier to catch fans pouring milk (abhishekam) over a king size poster!” he says.

Meanwhile, the superstar was spotted at the Yoga Ville in Virginia, USA, offering prayers to his guru Satchidananda along with his daughter Aishwaryaa and we bet it’s for all round magizhchi (meaning happiness – a term that has been popularised leading up to the film)