Move over Bond. Watch Indian superhero Bahubali mount an elephant, climbing its trunk first and walking up.
As Bahubali 2: The Conclusion opened in theatres worldwide on Friday to frenzied anticipation, a crowd of engineering students in Jamshedpur roared "Jai Mahishmati", referring to the film's fictional kingdom, before stepping inside Payal Cinema.
S.S. Rajamouli's epic war drama starring Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty and Sathyaraj opened to houseful shows across Ranchi, Jamshedpur and Dhanbad.
In Jamshedpur, Bahubali 2 in Eylex Fun n Films (13 shows) and Payal Cinema (four shows) are houseful till Sunday through advance bookings alone, a feat even Salman Khan has possibly not equalled. In Ranchi, advance bookings for Saturday and Sunday are rising over the 60 per cent mark. In Dhanbad, there's no concept of advance booking at single screens, but over 80 per cent of shows in Inox are booked for Saturday and 65 per cent for Sunday.
Theatre owners are excited as they have not seen this kind of business in years. "The shows are booked till Sunday and now the spillover affects Monday too. This is awesome," said Anand Lohia, Ranchi-based director of Eylex, which has plexes in Jamshedpur, Ranchi and Deoghar.
Echoed the manager of Carnival Cinemas in Ranchi, Dhruv Khushwaha. "I have never seen such excitement in recent years for any movie. All our 15 shows from 8.45am to 11.30pm across three halls are full on Friday," he said, adding they had got "enthusiastic response" for weekend bookings.
"People braved 42-degrees-plus heat to queue up for tickets," added Gopal Agarwal, who owns Deshbandhu Cinema in Jharia, Dhanbad. "All our four shows are packed."
"We are packed till Monday. This film is here to stay," said C.L. Sharma, general manager of Jamshedpur-based Payal Cinema.
Friday viewers gave the film a big thumbs up. "It's not just an Amar Chitra Katha kind of a story, it's not only about grand VFX and action. Characters are fleshed out beautifully, even of women, Sivagami and Devasena," said Abhijit Raha, a Jamshedpur professional. Added Deepak and Reema Keshri, a couple from Hirapur, Jharia, "We loved the music (director M.M. Keeravani)." "The kingdom of Mahishmati is now our fantasy land," said Harsh, a an electrical engineering student of NIT Jamshedpur who came with 14 friends.
And why did faithful Kattappa kill Amarendra Baahubali? Those who watched Part 2 know why. "No spoilers," pleaded a Ranchi college student, Saket Kumar. "I couldn't get a ticket but will catch the movie this weekend."
