Viewers turn up at Eylex to watch Slumdog Crorepati. Telegraph picture

Ranchi/Dhanbad, Feb. 15: Slumdog Crorepati, the Hindi version of Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionnaire, has been an instant crowd-puller in Ranchi and Dhanbad.

In Ranchi, the film is running to packed shows for the past three weeks at Eylex, the state’s first multiplex, in Hinoo. Confirming the heavy rush, Pradeep Modi, the owner of Eylex, said that most of the viewers are in their teens. “The response is so good that we are now screening three shows, surpassing box office returns for other recent hits like Chal Chala Chal, Dev D and Luck By Chance,” Modi said.

Released on January 23, the film was being screened at Eylex for only two shows in red screens that have a seating capacity of 162. But after the overwhelming turnout, Eylex began screening the film in three shows.

As an added attraction, the price of tickets was modified. Modi said that initially each ticket cost Rs 120. But prices were brought down to Rs 80 for the gold seat (front seat) and Rs 100 for platinum (back seat).

At Dhanbad’s Fame Cinema, people of all ages are keen to watch the movie. Public relation officer of the cinema hall Karan Sethi said that viewers include the elderly as well. He attributed the popularity to the international hype that the film has generated.

He added that even though the occupancy rate was still around 70 per cent, the response during the first two weeks was tremendous.

Jyoti Bajaj, the deputy and managing trustee of The International Library and Cultural Centre who saw the English version of the movie, Slumdog Millionaire, said: “Through this movie, Dharavi — Asia’s largest slum — has been depicted quite well. But, I think the film did not show the plight of India.”

Ranjana Ghose, a government school teacher, differed. The movie has rightly depicted the condition of slum dwellers in the metros and the story has all the other ingredients to make it successful, she said.

Amit Tiwani, a Dhanbad-based chartered accountant, who saw the movie with his family said that an Oscar nomination and the recent Golden Globe and Bafta awards has been the prime factor for generating interest among the common people.

But some felt that actor Dev Patel’s British accent did not go down well with his acting in the dubbed Hindi version of the film.

A.R. Rahman’s music, creating waves worldwide, also received some flak.

“Overall the movie was good but the music by Rahman was not very appealing. The kind of work he has done in earlier movies is much better,” Jyoti added.