An ardent Madhuri Dixit fan outside a theatre with the poster of her latest movie. Picture by Manik Bose

Ranchi, Nov. 30: Aaja Nachle — that’s what the audience is saying after catching the first show of Bollywood diva Madhuri Dixit’s latest venture.

The dancing fever is gripping the young and the old alike. Retired businessman and septuagenarian R.D. Kejriwal, an ardent Dixit fan, was at Eylex today. “I could not have asked for a better gift on my wedding anniversary. Madhuri is as she was five years ago. I loved her dancing, acting and presentation,” said Kejriwal.

The Yash Raj entertainer was running packed houses today. Deepak Choudhary, the manager of Eylex, said the total occupancy for Friday’s show was 80 per cent. “The morning and afternoon shows had a few vacant seats but the evening show was house full,” he said. Bookings stand at 50 per cent for Saturday and 85 per cent for Sunday.

Pappu Sardar, a Dixit fan from Jamshedpur, was seen distributing gifts among the audience. Narayan Jalan, the owner of Eylex who saw the first show was happy with the film. “I was reminded of her role in Dil To Pagal Hai. Her last movie Devdas was a runaway hit, too,” Jalan said. However, the frenzy for Om Shanti Om lies unmatched. “OSO had 100 per cent occupancy from the first day itself,” said the manager of Eyelex.

The first show starts here at 9.45am and a total of nine shows will be screened each day. Tickets are priced between Rs 120 and Rs 150.

Rehan Khan, a student of St Xavier’s College, said the film is female oriented but Dixit has acted well. “Though I feel it might not click with the youngsters,” he said. But Pradeep Modi, a Dixit follower, was sure she would give a tough time to the present generation.