WATCH: Rajini's 2.0 release a low key affair in K'taka

Urvashi, Poornima, Savitha, Rex and other theatres, which usually witness huge crowds whenever superstar Rajinikanth films are released, wore a deserted look on Thursday. Though the much anticipated multilingual film 2.0 starring Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar hit screens today, Rajini fans decided to keep the celebration a low key affair, following the demise of Kannada actor 'Rebel star' Ambareesh.

"Rajini sir was a close friend to Ambareesh sir. He is deeply hurt by his demise. He requested all the fans association in the state to keep the movie release a low key affair. Even we are deeply hurt by Ambareesh sir's death. So there is no celebration as such, but tickets are sold out across the state," Rajini Santosh, president, Karnataka Rajinikanth fans association told DH.

Whenever Rajini's films release, most of the theatres are adorned with huge cutouts and banners of Rajini fans. "Every time when Rajini's film gets released it used to be a festival for us. But this time we voluntarily decided not to celebrate this release as it will be a disrespect to the departed soul, " said Velu, a Rajini fan.

Protest By Vatal Nagaraj

Kannada Chaluvali Paksha chief Vatal Nagaraj protested against the domination of other language films in Karnataka. He turned up with other pro-Kannada activists in front of Urvashi theatre and tried to enter the movie hall. However, police personnel deputed near the theatre took him to the custody.