Jamshedpur/Ranchi, Aug. 12: The much talked about Aamir Khan starrer Mangal Pandey ? The Rising, depicting the sepoys? revolt against the British Empire in 1857, has invited both admiration and criticism.

Although, the film opened to packed houses today and was widely appreciated, especially by the youngsters, a section of historians said that they felt some scenes in the film have been ?distorted? for commercial gains.

Thought no organisations or institutions have come forward to protest.

B.D. Dubey, former head of history, Ranchi University, told The Telegraph, ?The film has already seen protests in various parts of the country. The sentiments of people in Mangal Pandey?s native, Balia, have also been hurt. Although I have not seen the film but have been following the reviews and reports very closely. Some portions have been distorted and is far from reality.?

But, another section of the academicians appreciated the director?s conceptualisation of Mangal Pandey?s deeds.

?The sacrifice of Mangal Pandey and the nationalism he projected has been presented in the director?s perspective. In spite of everything, this effort is quite positive and appreciable,? they said.

The film has been widely appreciated by a wide section of the populace. Theatre owners in both cities reported full-houses and said the crowd was lapping up the movie.

In the steel city the movie was released only in one theatre.

Owner of Payal Talkies Vishal Sawa, whose theatre is screening the movie, said: ?The reaction has been quite encouraging till now. So we can hope for similar response in the days to come.?

The tickets were all sold-out and Sawa, who has introduced telephone booking, was all smiles.

?This concept of booking tickets over the telephone has worked out very well. Since the phone lines opened on Wednesday, we have been receiving, for tickets, over 250 calls per day,? added Sawa.

?Though set in the pre-independence era, it is not a typical period-movie, so everybody would really enjoy it,? opined the theatre owner.

History and business aside, Aamir Khan fans seem thrilled by the movie.

Said a fan: ?He looks awesome with the handlebar moustache. Everything he does has style. I loved the entire movie.?

Mukesh, a resident of the city, said: ?It was an excellent movie and especially the depiction of the friendship between Aamir Khan and his friend, played by a British actor, was the best part in the movie.?

People could not stop raving about what a brilliant performer he is. From morning, there was a long queue near the ticket counter and one man was even injured during the scramble that followed the start of ticket sales.

Interestingly, most of the youngsters your correspondent talked to maintained that although they had read about the famous rebellion, seeing it on the big screen has reminded them of the sacrifice done by Mangal Pandey once again.

Chitto, a college student, said: ?The film is really enjoy able. Although I had read about the rebellion, during my school days, some of them had faded away from my memory. But, after watching the film, it came back to me.?

Referring to the historians? allegations, he said: ?I do not know about any distorted scenes, but I believe that taking such subjects and making films on them is deserves appreciation.?