Viewers in front of a cinema showing Apaharan in Ranchi. Picture by Hardeep Singh

Ranchi, Dec. 2: Apaharan, which was released today at Sujata Picture Palace, seems to be a hit in the capital of a state hit hard by apaharan or kidnapping.

The Prakash Jha film, which drew a huge crowd this morning, is not only about a youth?s ?learning? tricks about the dirty world of corruption and abduction but also of the kidnapping of the society itself.

The viewers, including school and college students, said they could relate to the film both by its subject as well as its presentation and vocabulary.

According to them, the abduction business, which was earlier popular in Bihar, has also become rampant in Jharkhand also.

This has increased their curiosity, as there was much hype that the movie is a celluloid adaptation of abductions in the neighbouring state.

According to the audience, if Ajay Devgan, who plays the youth, rules the first half of the film, it was Nana Patekar, playing a local goon, who captivated the viewers in the post-interval session.

?Jha?s last film Gangajal, released in 2003, was one of the best action movies, which increased our expectation to watch this film? said Yuvraj Jha, one of the viewers, at the 1,217-seater Sujata cinema, where extra chairs had to be arranged to accommodate the rush.

One of the viewers, A.K. Gupta, an LIC agent, said: ?We are thankful that Jharkhand police are not so indifferent and relaxed unlike in Bihar.?

The film, which has no song but only one item number, ?Aao Babuji Kuchh Batein Karenge?, has given the manager of Sujata cinema, B.K. Singh, a sigh of relief.

?We had to stop advance booking, which saw a rush from 9 am, two hours ahead of the first show. It was house-full all day long,? Singh added.

Another viewer, Prakash Piyush, said lawlessness in Bihar is the subject of Apaharan and because Prakash Jha is from Bihar, he knows his subject well and gives it appropriate treatment.