Sarkar row: Theatres wear deserted look over uncertainty

Madurai: With uncertainty prevailing over the screening of actor Vijay’s controversial movie Sarkar, theatres in the city, where the film is being screened, wore a deserted look on Friday as only a few people turned up. Some of the crowds which had turned up returned upon witnessing the deserted look.

The movie was released in 16 screens in the city alone on Diwali day. On Friday, only a few seats were filled up for the first and matinee shows. However, the crowds started swelling for the evening and the night shows, after the issue between the ruling party and the filmmakers came to an end.

Theatre owners said that only 20 to 30% of the seats were filled for the first show and 50% for the matinee show on Friday which was very unlikely for a Vijay film. It was due to tension created by the protest organized by the ruling party men on Thursday.

P K M Rajangam, proprietor of Priya complex, where AIADMK functionaries led by Madurai North MLA V V Rajan Chellappa had staged a protest on Thursday, said the situation improved on Friday evening as the issue was sorted out with the removal of contentious scenes from the movie. He also said that the business on Thursday and Friday was badly affected.

A Anandakumar, a disheartened Vijay fan lashed out at the ruling party functionaries for the fiasco. “If they have any objections, they should have approached the court. Taking law into their hand is a bad precedent. Had we involved in such violence, we would have been booked under stringent sections of law,” he said. TNN