Ranchi, Jan. 22: It’s time for Chandni Chowk to China and Ghajini to take a bow and leave the stage. For, Slumdog Millionaire is here.
The winner of four Golden Globe awards is all set to hit the screens in India tomorrow and only one theatre in the state capital, Eyelex, has bagged the rights to show the movie.
Movie buffs had started queuing up for tickets at Eyelex weeks before.
“Right from the time the business for distribution of the Hindi version of the movie started in India in September 2008, there has been a heavy competition among theatre owners to purchase its print. Luckily, only we could manage it. Only 300 prints are to be released in 80 top cities and towns,” said Pradeep Modi, the executive manager of Eyelex in Hinoo, the only multiplex of the city.
Based on a novel called Q & A by Vikas Swarup, the movie has been directed by British director Danny Boyle. It revolves around a Mumbai slum boy, who goes on to become a millionaire after winning a popular game show.
The film’s cast includes British actor Dev Patel, Irrfan Khan and Anil Kapoor.
“The booking records of Slumdog Millionaire have surpassed that of big banners such as Ghajini and Chandni Chowk to China. In fact, no movie had registered such high sales of advance tickets in the past one year. Till now, 90 per cent of seats (evening shows) have been booked while the remaining 10 per cent have been tele-booked. The movie is expected to do brisk business in the city,” said Deepak Kumar, the manager at the ticket counter of Eyelex.
“I would like to watch this movie as the storyline is different that of the regular Bollywood fare. It would also be interesting to watch a Hindi movie based on a novel written by an Indian diplomat, directed by a British and funded by a European company,” said Chetna Mirpuri, a bank employee.
Slumdog Millionaire won five of the six awards it was nominated for at the Critics Choice Awards. It has also been nominated for eleven BAFTA awards and ten academy awards.
“The film has been in news for several months. This very fact has made me curious. I have booked tickets for the first day first show,” said Amit Kumar, a student of St Xavier’s College.
While tickets for the matinee and evening shows are priced at Rs120, that for the morning show is Rs 100.
“The movie, whose preview was held in the metros today, is expected to find a mass appeal in a small city such as Ranchi because of its Hindi version. At least, the initial bookings suggest so,” said Modi.
