MADURAI: The much-awaited magnum opus of Kamal Haasan, 'Vishwaroopam' hit the screens in Madurai on Thursday as eager fans vied with each other to watch the movie in its first screening.

The halls in the six theatres in the city where the film was screened were packed. Fans were seen queuing up in front of the theatres as early as 6am. Besides the six theatres in the city, the film was released in five other theatres across the district. Not just the fans, the theatre owners were also jubilant over the film's release after a prolonged legal battle, as the shows have been booked full for the next five days. "Usually we have lean days on weekdays, but most of our shows are booked on Monday and Tuesday also," said Kumar a theatre employee.

With the film running into a lot of controversy, tight security arrangements were made in front of the theatres but it did not deter the fans. Most of those who managed to bag a ticket for the first show in the morning were college students. "We planned and bunked our classes and will have to explain tomorrow (Friday), but the film was worth watching," said Suresh Kumar, a third-year student.

Almost all the theatres where the movie was screened were decorated by its fans with plantain stems, flags and balloons to mark the release. Posters and cut-outs of the actor were given milk abhishekams in some places. Sweets were distributed to the first-comers by the fans.

In some theatres, police asked the viewers to maintain silence while the movie was on, for security reasons. "That is such a stupid order and all of us started whistling and clapping as the film progressed. Afterall, the very purpose of coming to the cinema hall is to enjoy oneself," said Kamalakannan, a fan, who says he has decided to see the film as many times as possible, to compensate for the loss incurred by the delay of the film. There were also women among the audience in the afternoon and evening shows and they said that they were not bothered by the controversy of the film.

Meanwhile, in Tuticorin, rumours that pirated CDs of Vishwaroopam were being sold prompted a raid by the CB-CID sleuths. The teams seized pirated versions of Maniratnam's 'Kadal, Alex Pandian' and comic flick Kanna Laddu Thinna Asaya, but could not find Vishwaroopam CDs. The police arrested three persons and seized computers, scanners, pen drives and motorcycles from them.

source [timesofindia]