City theatre revamped for Rajni’s Robot

Aurora theatre in Matunga, one of the biggest hubs for Tamil films, has the capacity to seat only 700 people. There is one-odd week left for the release of superstar Rajnikant’s film Endiran (Robot), and they have already received a demand for 7,000 tickets. In an attempt to prepare itself for the ‘festival’ that Rajnikant’s films are, at this cult theatre, it has been revamped.

“People have been calling to book tickets for the first-day-first-show of the film, weeks before its release date was decided. We can’t handle the demand,” says Nambi Rajan, the owner. “You have to be lucky to be able to catch that show of any Rajni sir’s film.”

Rajan, who in the past has distributed the Telugu version of Sivaji — The Boss (2007), has even been presented a shield from the superstar himself for having run the film for over 100 days. But Rajan’s latest attempt goes beyond. This year, he is trying to get the superstar to visit the theatre and see the frenzy himself.

“I don’t know whether it will be possible, but I want to try and get him to visit the theatre during the run of Endiran just once,” says Rajan, adding that the theatre has been the hub for Tamil films for over 60 years now.

He has been a first-hand witness to the madness that Rajnikant films bring about among audiences. Talking about the same, he says, “The demand for his films and a lot of other Tamil films has become bigger over the years, which is why we thought now would be a good time to renovate the place and change things around a little.”