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Will the culture of FDFS in Tamil Nadu end? Fans awaiting release of Vijay’s Sarkar worried
As Sarkar gears up for release, a PIL has been filed against theatres which screen early morning shows for fans.
First Day First Show is a movie-watching experience that allows fans of big stars to catch their favourite actor’s movies before the audiences do. The first show could begin anywhere between 4 am and 6.30 am depending on the stature of the star and the buzz around a film. For instance, Mani Ratnam’s Chekka Chivantha Vaanam was screened in multiple theatres at 5 am on the first day and more recently, Vijay Devarakonda’s NOTA too received the same welcome in Tamil Nadu. Now, however, a PIL has been filed against early morning shows at the high court.
Tamil Nadu allows only a certain number of shows everyday in theatres, but some of the stand-alone movie complexes such as Rohini, Kasi, Rakki and GK Cinemas are known to screen five shows or more in a day for big star vehicles.
Trade analyst Sreedhar Pillai tweeted, “Will TN govt crackdown on early morning shows of new Tamil films on Release day? A PIL was filed in Madras HC against 8 Theatres for early morning shows contrary to state GOs which place limit on number of shows. High Court asks state to furnish details on these shows.”
Interestingly, Rhevanth Charan, the executive director of Rohini Silver Screens had tweeted on Sunday, “On behalf of #Thalapathy fans request @sunpictures to make all arrangements to provide kdm for 1 am show. @actorvijay @RohiniSilverScr #fdfs #Sarkarmania #SarkaratRohini #Sarkar.”
Fans have since responded wondering why the PIL was filed just as actor Vijay’s Sarkar is about to hit screens for Diwali. One fan tweeted, “Athu eppadi correct ah Sarkar release time poi case file Aaguthu. Nalla pannuringa da Dai (How is it that the case is being filed exactly when Sarkar is about to release? Nicely done).”
Fans also wondered what is wrong with screening films early morning and why a case has to be filed for such matters at all. One fan tweeted, “What’s the exact negative of the early morning shows? What’s the necessity for filing a case for it. Doesn’t the government have anything better to look into? Early morning shows have been a tradition in Tamil cinema for many years. It’s all purely for the love of their actor.”
It must be noted that Vijay’s films have faced political pressure before. His last release, Mersal directed by Atlee became controversial when a dialogue opposing GST was taken out of context by the BJP party members in the state. The politicians, including Tamilisai Soundarrajan were trolled for their opinions about Mersal, which led to H Raja, another BJP member, speaking about Vijay’s religion and how that was a factor in the film having a dialogue against the ruling party.
Back on the PIL against FDFS issue, some even spoke about how it and the case would be stretched till Diwali, but post that the case would be dismissed just in time for 2.0 to have early morning shows. Another Twitter user also said, “Let’s take a break from 18 MLAs judgement. Here’s some juicy news: Madras HC to hear tomorrow a PIL petition filed against a group of cinema theatres for having played six shows in a day beginning from 5 am for screening Seemaraja, Saamy 2 & Chekka Chivantha Vaanam.”
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