Kabali frenzy spreads, ticket prices soaring

July 20, 2016

Chennai, Jul 20: Make hay while Rajinikanth shines! This seems to be the mantra for theatre owners who are making a killing by selling “Kabali” tickets at exorbitant prices — much to the disappointment of hardcore superstar fans.

kabali

With “Kabali” slated to release in over 4,000 screens worldwide on Friday, the demand for its tickets is unprecedented.

“Most theatres across the state (Tamil Nadu) have sold out tickets for the opening weekend. With the average ticket costing Rs 600, most ardent Rajinikanth fans are disappointed that they couldn’t afford the tickets on the first day,” trade analyst Trinath said agency.

Despite Tamil Nadu government’s cap of Rs 120 on movie tickets, theatre owners have been selling “Kabali” tickets at five times higher than the original price.

“We are used to paying Rs 120 for movie tickets. But this sudden exponential increase in ticket price is very unfair. The prices vary according to the show timings. Early morning shows are sold at Rs 500-600 and the prices are slashed through the course of the day,” rues Santhosh Kumar, a second year college student.

Some fans are seething over unavailability of tickets because they were allegedly sold in bulk to corporates.

“We don’t have issues with the ticket prices. It’s once in two or three years, you get a Thalaivar (Rajinikanth’s) film. If you can’t shell out Rs 1,000 for your matinee idol, then what kind of a fan are you,” asks Muralikrishna, a chartered accountant.

Although most theatres give preference to fan club members, this year they seem to have favoured companies.

“Across major multiplexes, tickets on the first day were booked by corporates. Some of these companies booked in bulk even before the online booking started. I somehow managed to get a ticket through a friend.

“But when I tried to book five tickets for my family just minutes after online bookings opened, it didn’t even go through,” said Muralikrishna.

A theatre owner, on condition of anonymity, said the tickets were being sold at such high prices because of the high investment involved.

“The Chengalpet area rights of ‘Kabali’ were bought for a whopping Rs 18 crore. In order to make profits, the film should collect over Rs 30 crore. If the tickets are sold at Rs 120, it’s impossible to recover the investment in the first few days,” he said, and added that the opening weekend is very crucial for big-ticket films.

“The opening weekend is very important to recover as much as investment as possible. In the case of a Rajinikanth-starrer, only when you sell tickets at Rs 400-500, will you be able to see profits, provided the film opens to positive word-of-mouth.

“Despite taking in over Rs 100 crore, Rajinikanth’s ‘Lingaa’ turned out to be a dud because of the high investment involved,” he explained.

Directed by Pa. Ranjith, “Kabali” also stars Radhika Apte, Dinesh, Dhansikaa, Kalaiarasan, Kishore, John Vijay, Ritwika and Winston Chao, among others.

In the US, tickets for “Kabali” premiere on Thursday are priced at $25, as opposed to $14 or $15 for regular releases.

“As an Indian, when I start converting the ticket price into Indian money, it gives me a heart attack. But you don’t get to see two or three Rajinikanth releases in a year. I think it’s worth it for the euphoria his films bring,” Madhusudhan, who has been living in New York for over a decade, told agency.

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News Network
April 30,2020

Mumbai, Apr 30: Rishi Kapoor, the romantic star of many a Bollywood film who was diagnosed with leukemia in 2018, died in a Mumbai hospital on Thursday, his brother Randhir Kapoor said. He was 67.

Rishi, a third generation actor of the famous Kapoor dynasty, is survived by his wife Neetu Kapoor, actor son Ranbir and daughter Ridhima.

"He is no more. He has passed away," Randhir said.

Rishi was taken to the H N Reliance hospital by his family on Wednesday.

His death comes a day after after his "D-Day" co-star Irrfan Khan passed away, also of cancer. Three months ago, the disease claimed his sister Ritu Nanda.

"Our dear Rishi Kapoor passed away peacefully at 8:45am IST in hospital today after a two-year battle with leukemia. The doctors and medical staff at the hospital said he kept them entertained to the last.

He remained jovial and determined to live to the fullest right through two years of treatment across two continents. Family, friends, food and films remained his focus and everyone who met him during this time was amazed at how he did not let his illness get the better of him, the family said in a statement.

Rishi returned to India last September after undergoing treatment for his cancer in the US for almost a year.

In February, he was hospitalised twice.

He was first admitted to a hospital in Delhi where he was attending a family function. At the time, he had said he was suffering from an "infection".

After his return to Mumbai, he was again admitted to a hospital with viral fever. He was discharged soon after.

Rishi made his first screen appearance as a child artiste in his father Raj Kapoor's film Shri 420 , where he appeared in the song Pyaar hua ekraar hua . This was followed by "Mera Naam Joker". But it was in 1973, with the blockbuster Bobby , again directed by his father, that he made his debut as a romantic hero. He continued to be a favourite romantic hero for almost three decades.

His notable films as a romantic hero are "Laila Majnu", "Rafoo Chakkar", "Karz", "Chandni", "Heena" and "Saagar".

He was, however, more proud of his second innings as an actor, which he found more satisfying. His notable films as a character artiste are "Do Dooni Chaar" with wife Neetu, "Agnipath" and "Kapoor & Sons".

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Agencies
February 20,2020

Chennai, Feb 20: Three people, including an assistant director were killed and 9 others injured when a crane used for the shooting of “actor Kamal Haasan starrer “Indian 2” film crashed down at Nazarathpet near Poonamallee here late on Wednesday night.

Police said the accident occurred when a group of workers were engaged in erecting a set for a scene at EVP film city, private studio. As the crane crashed down, a heavy-duty light stand that was mounted on it also fell on the workers.

Mr Haasan and the film director S.Shankar escaped unhurt in the accident.

The deceased were identified as Krishna (34), an assistant director of the film, Madhu (29) and Chandran (60), who was part of the catering team.

Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services personnel, along with a fire tender from Irungattukottai rushed to the spot and retrieved the bodies from the spot.

Mr Haasan, who was at the accident spot, also helped to transport the injured people to a private hospital near Poonamallee.

The bodies were sent to the Government General Hospital for post-mortem.

The Nazarathpet police have filed a case and are investigating the cause of the accident.

Meanwhile, Mr.Haasan condoled the death of three people during the film shoot. “The accident is the most horrific I have seen in my film career. I have lost three colleagues, but my pain pales in comparison to the grief of those who have lost their loved ones.

My deepest sympathies to them, he tweeted.

The Lyca productions also expressed condolences over the tragic accident. “We are extremely saddened with the unfortunate accident happened at the sets of Indian 2. We have lost three of our most hardworking technicians, it tweeted.

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News Network
July 25,2020

Bhubaneswar, Jul 25: The COVID-19 pandemic has hit many people hard, and the latest victim of the pandemic is Bollywood actor Kartika Sahoo from Odisha. With the entertainment industry almost non-functional and most productions on hold, the actor is forced to sell vegetables for a living.

Sahoo, who hails from the from Garadpur block of the Kendrapada district in Odisha, said that he went to Mumbai to try his luck in Bollywood at the age of 17. For many years he worked as a bodyguard to film stars and cricketers such as Amitabh Bachchan and Sachin Tendulkar, among others.

Lady luck shone on him in 2018, and he landed noticeable roles in the action sequences of many movies, he said while speaking with news agency. He also has a fight sequence with Akshay Kumar in his upcoming film 'Sooryavanshi'.

Just before the nationwide lockdown which started on March 22, Sahoo had returned home to Odisha after shooting a fight sequence in Jaipur. Since then, with no work, the actor has been living off his savings to sustain his family. But, after four months of no work, and a medical emergency, a major part of his savings was drained.

To find work, he moved to state capital Bhubaneswar, but to no avail. In the end, Sahoo had to resort to selling vegetables in Rasulgad there.

Sahoo is still hopeful and said that he'll again try his luck in Bollywood once the situation is back to normal, till then he'll struggle, like others, for survival.

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