Coimbatore: If you are a die-hard Ajith fan and if you wish to watch the first day, first show of his Vivegam movie, be prepared to shell out a lot of money. In the textile city, tickets for this show are being sold for anywhere between Rs 500 and Rs 1,400, courtesy this star's fan clubs.
The irony is fans of this star, regarded second most popular after superstar Rajinikanth are willing to pay this price. “I earn just Rs 600 a day. I have purchased a ticket for this show for Rs 800.” V. Anand said.Actor Ajith disbanded all his fan clubs. However, the truth is that a majority of the fan clubs continue to function for personal or political gains. Here ‘Kovai Mavattam Ajith Talamai Sangamam’, which is regarded as the oldest Ajith fan club pre-booked the first day first show of Vivegam in two cinema theatres here.
“We sold all 1,800 tickets to our fans. Tickets were sold for Rs 30 extra. This money will be used to place cut-outs of this star at the theatres and we will also perform ‘poojas’ for the success of this movie.” S.K. Ashokan, president of the fan club said. However, when DC did a random check, it came to light that tickets for this show at the two theatres were sold for anywhere between '800 and '1,400.
This practice was brought to the notice of M. Subramaniam, president of Cinema Owners Association (western region) who said, “cinema theatre owners must first stop selling tickets in bulk to fan clubs. Also it is the responsibility of the stars to urge fan clubs not to indulge in such activities, just like the stars are campaigning against audio and video piracy.”
A theatre owner himself, Subramaniam by policy refrains from selling tickets in bulk to fan clubs and this he says is being practiced at Sri Sakthi Cinemas in Tirupur for the last 12 years.
