Rajinikanth.
Credit: PTI Photo
A Rajinikanth blockbuster releasing on Thursday is getting a record 800 shows in Bengaluru on the first day.
Jailer is the story of a jail official who must prevent a gang from rescuing its imprisoned leader. Made in Tamil, it is dubbed in many languages, including Kannada.
Theatres in Bengaluru have an unusually high number of screenings. PVR Nexus, Koramangala, has 25 shows on Thursday, while Cinepolis Nexus Shantiniketan and Cinepolis, Orion East Mall, Banaswadi have 21 shows each. In comparison, the Sunny Deol-starrer Gadar, releasing on August 11, has an average of just three screenings per theatre.
This is a season of big releases---‘Barbie’, ‘Oppenheimer’, ‘Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One’ and ‘Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani’. ‘Jailer’ joins the list on August 10.
“All three shows on the first day are sold out and weekend shows are also selling out fast,” says Venkatesh Reddy, managing director of Mukunda Cinemas, Maruthi Sevanagar. “We’re expecting fans to bring banners, brass bands and crackers.”
Bharadwaj, distributor, says Rajini is returning to the big screen after two years. “We’re expecting to make Rs 50 crore to Rs 60 crore in the opening week. His last few films didn’t do well and fans have high expectations this time.”
Multiple stars
Senior film journalist Shyam Prasad says the number of shows in Bengaluru on the first day is higher than that of Chennai.
He sees two reasons. One: multiplexes have the flexibility to adjust timings and add more shows whereas single screens work strictly on fixed timings. And two: star power cutting across film industries. This black comedy action film also features Shivarajkumar (Kannada), Mohanlal (Malayalam), Sunil (Telugu), Jackie Shroff (Hindi).
But over-screening can be counterproductive, Shyam fears. “Look (at the booking platform), every show in Chennai is selling out but in Bengaluru, except for the morning shows, booked by fans, the other shows are not selling as many seats.”
High ticket prices could be a reason. “There is no cap on ticket prices in Bengaluru. 'Jailer' tickets are starting at Rs 500 and going up till Rs 1,500 and more. In Chennai, the rates are capped at Rs 210."
In 2017, the Karnataka government had introduced a cap of Rs 200 on ticket prices. But instead of amending the relevant laws, it issued a Government Order which was stayed by the High Court, Shyam says.
Companion story
‘Our film was doing well’
<strap>The Rajini wave is sweeping away smaller films</strap>
The team of ‘Kousalya Supraja Rama’ (KSR) isn’t happy about medium-budget Kannada films being sidelined by the Rajini blockbuster.
Shashank, director, says, “Our film released on July 28. In the first week, the multiplexes did not give us prime time slots. We didn’t get better slots or more shows in the second week either, despite the fact that our film was doing well. The real shocker came on Saturday when we got to know about ‘Jailer’. On Thursday, we will only have 30-45 shows.”
On Monday, he wrote a letter to the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce to get the multiplexes to restore the shows for his film to 80-plus on Friday, a day after ‘Jailer’ is released. “The Chamber has got a verbal commitment from multiplexes that they will do justice to our film,” he says.
‘Aachar & Co’, a small-budget coming-of-age Kannada film, released to positive reviews two weekends ago and is now set to open in Berlin, the US, Canada and Australia. It has not received any update about a change in allocation of theatres in Bengaluru in the wake of the ‘Jailer’ release, says Sindhu Sreenivasa Murthy, its writer, director and protagonist.
She isn’t bitter about ‘Jailer’ stealing their thunder or that of ‘Hostel Hudugaru Bekagiddare’ and ‘Kousalya Supraja Rama’, the new Kannada releases that have emerged as sleeper hits.
The euphoria around ‘Jailer’ is a culmination of decades of stardom, and Sindhu says newbies like her find that inspiring.
Box (optional)
Unprecedented frequency, say fans
A cinephile and a huge fan of ‘thalaiva’, Krishna Prasad, says: “To see multiplexes screen the film at 15 to 30 minute intervals is uncommon. Even Chennai didn’t have so many shows when I last checked.” He is travelling to Chennai to catch a 4 am show on Thursday.
HR professional Winnifred Arockia is part of a 40-member Rajinikanth fan club in Bengaluru. They have created special t-shirts that they plan to wear to the first day first show. He prefers single screen theatres as he can find ‘the real fans’ there.
Hari A, another fan, shares that he likes the tonality in director Nelson’s films and is hence keen to watch 'Jailer'. “Rajni is also good at comedy and with this film it looks like he's at it again,” he says.