After opinions turn violent at Prasads IMAX, management bans reviewers from premises

Hyderabad: Prasads IMAX, for all the movie buffs, has always been their favourite bunch of cinema halls or multiplex to watch films. At this multiplex, every Friday is a festival of films. When films of A-list actors are released on the day of a festival, the amount of hungama and hype at the theatre is nothing less than a grand gala affair.

With the rise in the popularity of social media, movie reviews became increasingly available, with reviewers making a beeline to the theatres to comment about films, which includes the good and bad parts of the film and also about the management of the theatres.

For decades now, Prasads IMAX is where media persons watch the movie on the first day and give their ‘unbiased’ reviews. Here is where people get the adrenaline rush of watching the movie and where the first show of every movie gets screened. For many actors, watching their film at Prasads IMAX is a sentiment.

But for various reasons now, Prasads has become nothing less than a fish market as vloggers, YouTubers and media channels rush for reviews after the first show screening but things still managed to remain upbeat for most. Things took a dark turn after a recent incident that made the management of the theatre stop letting reviewers inside the premises.

Opinion Vs Opinion

Recently, on the first weekend of Adipurush’s release on June 16, a reviewer was thrashed by fans of Prabhas for giving a negative review of the movie. Prabhas has a huge fan base who supports him despite the results of his movies. So, if a movie becomes a disaster, the fans will be the first to get disappointed. This has been happening for all of Prabhas’ recent flicks.

After Saaho, Radhe Shyam and the recently released Adipurush ended up as duds at the box office, fans and non-fans became hugely disappointed. On June 16, a reviewer came out of the IMAX theatre and started giving his mixed opinion about the movie, saying that Prabhas didn’t suit Lord Rama’s character and Om Raut failed to showcase him properly. Prabhas’ fans, who were within earshot of him, got offended by his opinion and started a heated argument which ended which the reviewer getting physically assaulted. He was badly injured too.

The public intervened in time and rescued him and he is doing fine now. But IMAX took the incident seriously and, to avoid such dangerous situations altogether, has banned movie reviewers from the compound.

What do others have to say?

Management of other theatres, both single screens and multiplexes, say that they don’t really face such issues. Prasad, a manager at a PVR theatre in Banjara Hills said, “Press shows are held at Prasads IMAX only and many celebrities attend the show there because it has been nothing less than a ritual for ages now. Media and reviewers are invited there for shows and also to talk to the audiences to garner positive talks. But that is not entertained in multiplexes. Multiplexes are in malls and nobody can just enter the theatre due to high security. So, audiences are safer with us.”