FEAR Engulfs Mumbai, Padmaavat Starts Off On A Very Dull Note
The first day, first show has not begun on a promising note for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat. No prizes for guessing that reports of violence have deterred movie buffs from watching the magum opus. DO NOT MISS THE VIDEOS
Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor’s
Padmaavat hit theatres today amidst heavy police protection, however, the
magnum opus has opened on a rather dull note.
Deepika Padukone And Shahid Kapoor In Padmaavat
The film’s opening is in striking contrast to Sanjay
Leela Bhansali’s previous offering, Bajirao Mastani, whose morning shows ran to
packed houses.
Padmaavat has registered a lacklustre occupancy of
29-30%. The end result might still be healthy, but, having said that, the
cinema owners are visibly disappointed.
SpotboyE.com has it that many cinegoers came to the
cinema hall to catch the film but returned after seeing cops patrolling the
venue. Evidently, various incidents of violence and vandalism, which have been
reported, have deterred them from going ahead.
A leading distributor, on condition of anonymity, said,
“There is fear psychosis as of now. People will wait and watch for the next
24-48 hours to come and see the film with families.”
Police Gaurding Cinema Halls
Police Protection At Sangam Cinema
Police Van Outside Carnival Cinema
When contacted, owner of Gaiety-Galaxy, Manoj Desai said,
“I have released Padmaavat in Gaiety and Galaxy. The total collections as my
show goes live in the next ten minutes don’t seem to add up to even the
occupancy of one theatre – by which I mean that each of the two is less than
50% in footfalls.”
Gaiety Galaxy Theatre In Bandra
When asked to compare the opening of Padmaavat and
Bajirao Mastani, Desai said, “Please don’t rub salt to my wounds,” and hung up.
The scene at PVR Juhu also paints a bleak picture. Last
night, we didn’t even see pictures of Padmaavat in Chandan (a leading multiplex
in Juhu) on its billboards. Wonder if this theatre completely succumbed to even
think of releasing the film, unless, of course, a decision was taken in its
favour overnight.
Such despondency created by a certain Karni Sena group
does not augur well for the times we are living in.
Shockingly, the CMs of all the states which are reeling
under the havoc of the Sena have not yet come out and said a single word to
assure that we will be safe with measures that they will take to protect us.
Last night, a Karni Sena member made an appearance on Times Now and from the
way the conversation flowed, it was clear that he was not remorseful of what
was happening. In fact, despite the anchor, Anand Narasimhan, harping on
yesterday’s bus incident wherein school children were attacked in Gurugram, he
did not feel ashamed. Disgraceful!
Kudos to Anand who also put forward a valid point that
why has the Karni Sena leader, Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi, not been arrested till
now?
This group considers itself to be above the Supreme Court
and we repeat, CMs are keeping quiet despite the law and order in their
respective states being their responsibility.
If this is the case in Mumbai, which has faced graver
scenarios, we wonder how much has it escalated in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh,
Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, who have a large amount of anti-Padmaavat
supporters.
What lies ahead in this India? Should we shudder?
Let us end this article with the shameful video of a school
bus under attack in Gurugram. If this doesn’t infuriate you, you are not made
up of flesh and bones!
Video of school bus attacked today in Gurugram by anti-Padmavati cowards. This is the aukat of groups like the Karni Sena: attackers of little kids. May the men responsible for this never be able to walk again. pic.twitter.com/4ZFKvJboKc
— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) January 24, 2018
Image Source: instagram/padmaavatthefilm & Manav Manglani
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