Kabali tickets show housefull in less than 30 minutes

Prerna S, a marketing professional said, “I was online from midnight, trying to get tickets but it was after two hours that I managed to buy two tickets.” Prerna was one of the lucky ones as some of them didn’t even stand a chance. “I was online on the portals of all the major multiplexes. But within 15 minutes, everything was sold out and some sites even failed to connect,” says Ajay Kumar, a Rajini fan and a photographer.

Most theatres will be arranging for special shows that will start from 6.30 am on July 22 for which there will be fans coming in from various parts of Tamil Nadu. There are some fans who want to do things the old-school way. “My father used to tell me stories about how he rode a bicycle for several kilometres to reach the theatre at midnight and stand in the queue for the tickets. This was back in the 80s. I want to watch the movie at Albert theatre, stand in the queue to try and get hold of the tickets,” says S Santhosh, a call driver. 

Theatre owners say they will be expecting crowds from 5 am onwards on the day of the film’s release. CK Mohammed, who is an admin on a Facebook fan page dedicated to Rajinikanth, says, “The advanced bookings started on Thursday last week. It was only on Sunday midnight that bookings were confirmed and it was all sold out within half hour.” But there were also those who wanted to make money using this opportunity and sell the first-day-first-show tickets in black. “Some of my friends have managed to get tickets through fan clubs. They were willing to cough up nothing short of Rs 5,000 for a ticket,” says, Dijil, a Rajini fan.