Popular movies rerelease: Unruly fans cause huge damage to theaters in AP

Visakhapatnam: Unruly fans have caused huge damage to cinema theaters during the rerelease of super hit movies in Telugu states. Mahesh Babu's Pokiri was screened in 380 theaters across the globe on the eve of his birthday. Pawan Kalyan's 'Jalsa' was re-released on his birthday on September 2. The film has been re-released in more than 500 theaters. The shows were screened from September 1 night. Fans went gaga, putting huge banners, lighting crackers, and dancing to his songs all night outside the theatres.

However, some of the over-enthusiastic fans created havoc in theaters. Huge damage was caused to Sree Leelamahal theatre, Kinnera-Kameswari theatre in Visakhapatnam, Sri Rama theatre in Kurnool, and a few theatres.

Fans uprooted seats and removed seat covers. Each theater suffered damage to the tune of Rs 5-6 lakhs. "Our theatres screen movies to entertain the audience. We are happy with the trend of re-releasing movies. There were disturbances during the Pokiri release. Fans started throwing whatever came their way. We suffered a loss of Rs 7 lakh," said a theatre owner in Visakhapatnam.

No more risks

The exhibitors are now demanding huge advances. The amount will be returned after the show if there is no damage. The exhibitors don't want to take any risks. At Sri Rama theatre in Kurnool, there were disturbances by the fans due to poor sound quality. Following this, the theatre canceled two shows. Disappointed fans smashed window panes of the theatre.

"Fans burst crackers in the theaters. Before leaving, they even tore apart the screen. Why don't they understand that it causes huge losses? We wouldn't take such risks anymore ", said a theatre owner.