Celebrations that went throughout night reached their crescendo as the clock neared 4 am. They took out hundreds of milk sachets hidden in cars and began pouring them on the giant cut-outs of their Thalaivar Tamil superstar Rajinikanth.

Fans scrambled with each other to perform palabhishekham (milk pouring) on their beloved superstar and some even took Arati – The frenzy that is typically associated with the first-day first show (FDFS) of Rajinikanth movie was back in Chennai after two years.

#Rajinikanth mania is back in Chennai. Fans perform milk abhishekham and arti on cut outs in the wee hours for #Kaala #KaalatheRageofRajinikanth #KaalaFDFS | @DeccanHerald pic.twitter.com/x4duQ1tXDi

— Sivapriyan E.T.B. (@sivaetb) June 7, 2018

Kaala – the latest Rajinikanth movie that is set in the slums of Dharavi in Mumbai --   opened in more than a dozen screens at 4 am on Thursday. Barring a few screens, almost all major multiplexes and single screens will release the film later in the day.

As their Thalaivar made a grand entry on the silver screen after a gap of two years – the moment for which Rajinikanth fans keep yearning – fingers turned into whistle, papers and chocolates lay scattered across the large hall and some even performed an Arati with coconut and camphor to ward off evils.

Revelry at the Rohini Silver Screens in Koyambedu, Vetri Theatre in Chromepet and other single screens on the outskirts of Chennai were of a different level as hundreds of fans spent the night sleepless after word spread from abroad that Kaala was truly a Rajinikanth movie.

Since Kaala is Rajinikanth’s film after his grand political announcement last December, the expectation was sky-high with fans keeping their fingers crossed whether their star would give any indications of his political agenda. Though the usual hype associated with a Rajinikanth was missing in the run up to Kaala release, the movie is expected to do well at the box office if the initial reviews hold truth.

Across the globe, the film was released in nearly 2000 theatres.