Needy students and orphans watch Krrish 3 at Jitendra Cinema in Bokaro on Thursday. (Pankaj Singh)

Hrithik Roshan might have saved the world in Krrish 3. But, for 600-plus underprivileged schoolchildren, Bokaro district administration was the biggest superhero on Children’s Day.

The district administration gifted hundreds of students from Kasturba Gandhi schools in rebel-hit districts and an orphanage in Bokaro their first movie-watching experience on Thursday by taking them out to watch Krrish 3.

Around 9am, 600 students from Kasturba Gandhi schools in Kasmar, Petarwar, Chas, Chandrapura, Bermo and Nawadih arrived on buses to Jitendra Cinema, Sector IV. Thirty-nine children, including boys, from the Bokaro orphanage-cum-school were with them.

Over the next couple of hours in the darkened hall, they became part of a magical experience. Their faces lit up watching the lightning-fast special effects and superhero Krrish fighting larger-than-life villain Kaal.

Krrish 3 was the first movie Manju Mahto, hailing from Naxalite-infested Nawadih block, ever watched. “Electricity is yet to reach my village in Upar Ghat. Though I have watched TV at the hostel, this was my first movie hall experience,” said the 14-year-old.

When asked what she liked best in Krrish 3, Class IX student Rinky Gupta said: “Human beings can accomplish anything with dedication. I also came to know about cloning and how science is changing the world.

Senior teacher of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya, Nawadih, Sunita Devi said most girls were so excited that they could not sleep till very late on Wednesday. “And by 4am today (Thursday), they were up at 4am and had put on their best dresses,” she said.

Sources from the administration said the move was the brainchild of Bokaro deputy commissioner (DC) Uma Shankar Singh. Singh had recently asked Champa Karketta, a Class VIII student of the Kasturba Gandhi school in Nawadih the name of her favourite movie. To this, Champa replied she had never seen one.

This had got Singh thinking. Finally, the idea behind this unique gift to 639 underprivileged students emerged.

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