Sellout crowds greet MNIK across India

My Name Is Khan had a smooth opening, by-and-large, across the country on Friday. The film opened to full houses in Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai and several other cities.

My Name Is Khan had a smooth opening, by-and-large, across the country on Friday. The film opened to full houses in Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai and several other cities.

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“Post-noon shows were sold out in our theatres in Delhi. We are booked till Sunday,” said Jayendra Banerjee, vice-president, Satyam Cineplexes.

“Some 75 screens in the National Capital Region are screening the film. On an average, multiplexes are running 11 to 12 shows a day,” said a distributor.

Scores of people claiming to be Shah Rukh Khan fans protested in central Delhi against the Shiv Sena targeting the actor. Shouting slogans, the protesters gathered near Delite cinema in Daryaganj and burnt effigies of Sena chief Bal Thackeray and his son Uddhav.

In Madhya Pradesh, My Name is Khan released amidst minor protests by Shiv Sainiks. The film drew a huge crowd with the first show going house full at many theatres.

A sell-out crowd greeted the film in West Bengal, where it was released in 131 cinema halls without any trouble. Cheering Khan fans filled the halls for the first show.

“Screenings have begun in most multiplexes in Ahmedabad,” said Manubhai Patel, owner of Wide Angle Multiplex. Many saffron organisations’ activists were detained, police said.

In Nagpur, Sena activists set fire to a poster of My Name is Khan after marching to Panchasheel theatre.