http://www.hindu.com/2005/08/15/stories/2005081513810200.htm
Aamir's Mangal Pandey is a sell-out
Sudhish Kamath
Mayajaal screens a record seven shows daily. Mayajaal
is screening a record seven shows a day "It was worth
the wait. It's a good movie but it becomes commercial
because of Rani and Amisha's characters. Not
disappointing really but it is not as entertaining as
Lagaan."
CHENNAI: : The hero of the first war of independence
rallied local support and mobilised crowds.
When Aamir Khan returned to the big screen after four
years as Mangal Pandey, he started a revolution at the
box office.
Mayajaal started with a record number of seven shows a
day, selling out most shows for the first four days.
"The response has been tremendous," says
Shanmugavadivelu, manager of Mayajaal. "Seventy per
cent of the tickets were booked online and over the
phone for door delivery," he adds.
Those who had queued up on Friday for the evening show
braved the lathis of policemen called to maintain
discipline on the opening day of the much-awaited
film. But within moments, the queue had to be
dismissed as the House Full board came up even for the
lesser-priced tickets.
Undercover black ticket sellers carried covert
operations at Melody and Ega with the tickets going
for Rs.150.
Black market sellers sold tickets not in front but a
little away from Melody theatre, as agents escorted
the late-comers towards the auto-stand for giving them
a seat in the hall at double the price, during the
weekend. Soon, even the black ticket sellers ran out
of tickets.
For charity
And there were those who did it for charity.
"We bought 200 tickets for the evening and night shows
and sold it for Rs. 200 each, in aid of the Round
Table's charity projects," says Rajeev, a volunteer of
the Madras Cosmopolitan Round Table 94 and LC 38, who
along with friends, managed to sell their tickets on
Friday.
Sandeep, a software engineer, was waiting anxiously
outside the theatre. "Yes, I'm a big fan of Aamir. I
hope the movie is good," he said, after having picked
up the tickets as soon as the counters opened earlier
in the week.
When we called Sandeep on Sunday to ask him how he
found the movie, he said: "It was worth the wait. It's
a good movie but it becomes commercial because of Rani
and Amisha's characters. Not disappointing really but
it is not as entertaining as Lagaan."
Inside the hall on Saturday night, revellers lashed
out at East India Company's officers and hurled
expletives at them every time they appeared on screen.
They cheered every single punch-line of Aamir and even
when there was just a close-up of the star, as he
rolled up his moustache in style.
"The film has taken a bumper opening but it is
unlikely to be sustained. People expected another
`Lagaan' but it is not in the same league. People's
expectations were high because he was coming after
four years," says Sreedhar Pillai, box-office tracker
and film critic.
"Also, you cannot show a buddy-buddy relationship
between an Indian sepoy and a British officer, it
works against the public sentiment, especially when
they still have a `Lagaan' hangover," he adds. "But,
it will definitely recover its cost . The producers
have already made a neat profit."
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