The two-year wait to know why Kattappa killed Bahubali is finally over as the second part of the epic fiction thriller Bahubali-II. The conclusion was released in theatres world over to an unprecedented and overwhelming response from enthusiastic cine-goers of all ages.
After the first part of the historical thriller, which caught the imagination of the masses with its superb acting scenes, cinematography and mind-bowing settings to break all box office records, the second part of the movie has been eagerly awaited. The S.S. Rajamouli directed movie, which has created a storm in the film world, has again taken two years for completing the shooting of the second part. What incensed the interest of the movie-goers was the suspense surrounding the killing of Bahubali by his trusted and loyal soldier Kattappa.
At last, the suspense surrounding the mystery killing of Bahubali was cleared on Friday with the second part of the Rs.400-crore magnum opus was released in 6,500 theatres all over the world, including 6,500 theatres all over India. The film was released to a tremendous opening in all the 900 theatres in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh States. Reports indicated that there was a mad rush for seeing the movie in all the theatres in both the Telugu States. While six shows per day were officially permitted in AP, in Telangana the shows were limited to five per day.
As a matter of fact, a few theatres in Hyderabad even organized premier shows on Thursday night with prior permission. However, the release of the movie also triggered off some bitterness in certain fan associations. According to reports, there was a clash between the fans of Rebel Star Prabhas, the lead actor of Bahubali, and Mega Star Chiranjeevi at a theatre where the premier show of the movie was organized. The fans, who clashed with each other also reportedly damaged some vehicles parked in the area. The timely action of the police prevented the situation from becoming serious and some arrests were also reportedly made.
Though the Hyderabad High Court, on an appeal by the cinema theatre owners has permitted a nominal hike in the tickets, the greedy owners and distributors tried to exploit the unprecedented craze among the masses by raising the tickets prices abnormally. Though the online ticket sales for the movie in all the theatres in the two States have been closed for one week, many unscrupulous elements, with the theatre staff, have allegedly cornered bulk of the tickets for sale in blackmarket.
Reports about black marketing of tickets have come to light in both the Godavari districts, Vijayawada, Guntur, Vizag and other places in AP; similar instances have also come to light in many theatres in Hyderabad as well as some districts in Telangana State. The police, who have made tight security arrangements to prevent any untoward incidents and also any sort of stampede at the theatres in view of past experiences have rounded up many indulging in sale of tickets in black. Among those who watched the film in the opening morning show itself were the entire star cast and crew of the film at a city a theatre.
Interestingly, the Bahubali mania was not just prevalent in the Telugu States but also was being witnessed even in non-Telugu-speaking cities like Bengaluru, Chennai, New Delhi, Tiruvananthapuram, Bambay and so on. Crowds thronged in the theatres even in these cities since early morning to see the movie. In many theatres in these metropolis, the tickets were reportedly sold out for the entire week. The same situation seems to prevail outside India too.
According to the information reaching here, the NRIs in Washington and California States of the United States of America, have made block booking in theatres to watch the movie. NRIs, including many non-Telugus working in various MNCs like Microsoft, Amazon and so on in Seattle in Washington State, Qualcom in San Diego of California States have made mass bookings in the theatres though tickets were priced ranging from $40 to $50 dollars each. (NSS)