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

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FEAR Engulfs Mumbai, Padmaavat Starts Off On A Very Dull Note

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
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 Gaurding Cinema Halls

police protection at cinema halls
Police Protection At Sangam Cinema

police van outside carnival 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
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!




Image Source: instagram/padmaavatthefilm & Manav Manglani