The Rajinikanth fans association in Bengaluru was asked to not celebrate the release of 2.0 to honour the memory of actor-politician Ambareesh who died recently.
Raj Bahadur, a close friend of the actor, told Silverscreen that a grand celebration had been planned by all fan associations of Rajinikanth in the city. “It was a group effort and we had made extravagant plans. But it was not to be. Since Ambareesh was a close friend of thalaivar, we were asked to not continue with our celebrations. So we did what we could to mark the occasion, but in a more tasteful way,” he said.
Saplings were handed out to patrons of 2.0 in the MG Road area while pamphlets about Karnataka and the Kannada language were given to the audience in select few theatres. This was done to educate the audience about the Kannada language and also avoid any anti-Tamil issues from cropping up. “We really did not want to face any issues this time so we took all possible measures to ensure the safety of the audience as well as the general public,” said the manager of Lavanya Theatre near Ulsoor.
Raj Bahadur and team wanted to have a huge carnival-like event to celebrate 2.0‘s release. “Money was no issue for us since we have been preparing for this for over a year. However, we also did not care that our funds had gone waste, because when thalaivar asks something, we make sure it’s done,” he said.
Recommended
Some fans went elsewhere to watch the film, in order to soak in the revelry that accompanies a Rajinikanth movie. Manoj, an IT professional, went to Vellore to watch the movie. “Even for Kaala, I did the same thing. It was not allowed to release in Bengaluru so I watched in a Vellore theatre. This time around, I did not know what issue would crop up, so I booked tickets in Bengaluru as well as Vellore. Since celebrations were banned in Bengaluru, a group of my friends and I got here early in the morning,” he said.
Rajinikanth films must be celebrated, said Raj Bahadur. “We will pick up where we left off with Petta. That’s what we are waiting for.”