CHENNAI: Private companies declared a holiday and parents kept children out of school as an air of celebration swept southern India Friday for the premiere of Indian superstar Rajinikanth’s latest film.
Hundreds of thousands of Rajinikanth fans thronged cinemas across Tamil-language India and Malaysia to catch the pre-dawn showing of “Kabali,” a gangster movie that left patrons jumping from their seats and dancing in the aisles at the sight of their hero.
Crowds waited outside theaters all night before the first showing, and in Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu state, Rajinikanth enthusiasts burst firecrackers and distributed sweets outside cinemas.
Inside the Woodlands theater, one of the city’s oldest, fans rose to their feet, danced and sang along as the superstar made his first appearance. When Rajnikanth landed punches on the villain in the two-hour-long film, he was egged on with cheers and whistles.
Huge cutouts of the star and gigantic posters loomed large in the street outside the theater. In several places, fans poured big cans of milk over the cutouts in a Hindu ritual to bless the star and wish him a long life.
Sixty-five-year-old Rajinikanth is one of India’s most popular stars and counts millions of fans who speak the Tamil language and even those who don’t.
The film, also starring Taiwanese actor Winston Chao, was shot in Malaysia and southern India.
“Kabali” is being released in more than 12,000 screens across India, as well as in the UK and Malaysia, which has a sizeable Tamil-speaking population and millions of Rajinikanth fans. It also premiered in 400 US theaters. Rajinikanth and fans attended a special screening in San Francisco.
The action star has a huge following in Japan too, where his subtitled films are big box office earners.
For Alandur P. Sridhar, an insurance company employee, the long wait for his hero’s new film is over.
“I’ve been waiting since two years for this film,” said Sridhar, who came to watch the film in a group of 30 fans, all dressed in identical white T-shirts with Rajinikanth’s picture on the chest.
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For days, people had rallied online to find him, amplifying García’s call by sharing video of an interview she had given to local media. Photos of Boro, a medium-sized black dog with white eyebrows, went viral alongside phone numbers for García and her family. Spanish television broadcasters and newspapers covered the search.
García, her sister and the dog had been traveling Sunday by high-speed train from Malaga, their hometown in southern Spain, to the capital Madrid, when the tail of their train car jumped the rails for reasons that remain unclear, and smashed into another train.
The collision killed dozens and injured more than 150 people. Rescue crews helped García and her sister out of the tilted train car. That’s when she briefly saw Boro before he ran. She spoke to the cameras with a blanket draped over her shoulders and a bandage on her cheek after Spain’s worst rail accident in more than a decade.
“Please, if you can help, look for the animals,” a limping García told reporters at the time, choked up and holding back tears. “We were coming back from a family weekend with the little dog, who’s family, too.”
On Thursday, she had a bruise beneath her eye but, with Boro back by her side, also a smile plastered across her face.
“Now we have him and we have him for all our life,” García told reporters. “Now let’s go home, buddy.”
Bollywood fans revel in Rajinikanth film
Bollywood fans revel in Rajinikanth film
Recovery of missing dog Boro brings hope after Spain’s train crashes
- On Thursday, forest firefighters in southern Spain found the black-and-white pooch
- Photos of Boro, a medium-sized black dog with white eyebrows, went viral
MADRID: After back-to-back fatal train crashes sent shock waves through Spain, some good news arrived on Thursday: Boro, the missing dog, was found.
Days earlier, Boro’s owner Ana García issued a desperate plea to help find him after the dog bolted Sunday in the aftermath of the high-speed train crash in southern Spain that killed at least 45 people. García, 26, and her pregnant sister were traveling with Boro on the train that derailed.
On Thursday, forest firefighters in southern Spain found the black-and-white pooch, and posted images that showed García with one of her legs in a brace embracing Boro. Sitting inside a car, she spoke to reporters.
“Many thanks to all of Spain and everyone who has got involved so much,” she said. “It gave me great hope and we’ve done it.”
The search for Boro appeared to provide Spaniards something to hope for amid the week’s tragedy, and ultimately something to celebrate.
For days, people had rallied online to find him, amplifying García’s call by sharing video of an interview she had given to local media. Photos of Boro, a medium-sized black dog with white eyebrows, went viral alongside phone numbers for García and her family. Spanish television broadcasters and newspapers covered the search.
García, her sister and the dog had been traveling Sunday by high-speed train from Malaga, their hometown in southern Spain, to the capital Madrid, when the tail of their train car jumped the rails for reasons that remain unclear, and smashed into another train.
The collision killed dozens and injured more than 150 people. Rescue crews helped García and her sister out of the tilted train car. That’s when she briefly saw Boro before he ran. She spoke to the cameras with a blanket draped over her shoulders and a bandage on her cheek after Spain’s worst rail accident in more than a decade.
“Please, if you can help, look for the animals,” a limping García told reporters at the time, choked up and holding back tears. “We were coming back from a family weekend with the little dog, who’s family, too.”
On Thursday, she had a bruise beneath her eye but, with Boro back by her side, also a smile plastered across her face.
“Now we have him and we have him for all our life,” García told reporters. “Now let’s go home, buddy.”
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