Fans go crazy at special show of Chiranjeevi’s ‘Gang Leader’, damage theatre

The 1991 release completed 100 days in over 50 theatres; the soundtrack composed by Bappi Lahiri was a craze among film buffs.

ByY Sunita

Published Mar 06, 2023 | 2:43 PM ⚊UpdatedMar 06, 2023 | 3:04 PM

gang leader chiranjeevi

Chiranjeevi-starrer 'Gang Leader' was re-released (4K version) in theatres. (Twitter)

On Sunday, 5 March, the Sandhya 35 MM theatre at Chikkadpally in Hyderabad wore a festive look and there was excitement in the air.

The evening show was houseful and the audience was beyond excited to watch their favourite hero on the silver screen — Chiranjeevi.

The theatre was screening a special show of Gang Leader (1991), one of the blockbuster hits of the Megastar.

The film was rereleased (4K version) by its makers in select theatres in the Telugu-speaking states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Directed by Vijaya Bapineedu, Chiranjeevi’s Gang Leader featured Vijayashanti, Rao Gopal Rao, Anandraj, Murali Mohan, and Sarath Babu in key roles. It ran successfully for 100 days in over 50 theatres in the erstwhile state of Andhra Pradesh and was also dubbed in Tamil.

It was also remade in Hindi as Aaj Ka Goonda Raaj (1992), where Chiranjeevi reprised his role, and in Kannada as Kutumba (2003), where Upendra played the protagonist.

Bappi Lahiri’s soundtrack, coupled with Prabhu Deva’s choreography, became a craze among movie lovers.

The title song, “Panni Sasasa” and “Vaana Vaana Velluvaaye” were chartbusters; the latter was re-mixed by Mani Sharma for Ram Charan’s Rachcha (2012).

Jyothi Krishnan at gang leader re-release

Jyothi Krishnan with her family and friends at the special show of ‘Gang Leader” in Hyderabad. (Supplied)

Jyothi Krishnan, a die-hard fan of actor Chiranjeevi, was ecstatic.

“As a student, I watched the film numerous times in the cinema hall and on television. But this was a surreal feeling altogether,” she said.

Now a housewife, Jyothi Krishnan watched Gang Leader on Sunday night with family and friends and danced to her heart’s content.

“Well, that is the magic of watching a film on the big screen, particularly with a crowd that exhibits a similar vibe. the experience will be energetic and infectious,” she said.

Overexcited fans damage theatre

While the rerelease of Gang Leader allowed audiences like Krishnan to relive their fangirl/fanboy moments, the overenthusiastic fans of actor Chiranjeevi tore seats, burst firecrackers inside the cinema hall, and even spilt milk — meant to be seen as an offering — on the screen!

The theatre management did not reveal the extent of damages it suffered.

Confirming the damage, Telangana Film Chamber Treasurer Vijender Reddy revealed that the collections for the rerelease were really good, but the theatre management suffered losses due to the fans trashing the theatre.

“As the makers screened only one special show, the theatre was overcrowded and the fans just went berserk,” he told South First.

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He recalled how fans used to demand a rerun of a song or an action sequence when there were reels. But their requests were not being adhered to now due to digitisation, and hence they are going crazy.

Vijender Reddy felt that the damages suffered by the management of Sandhya 35 MM theatre could have been avoided had the makers screened more special shows for at least three days.

“The movie could have easily collected ₹30,000 on the first day. The numbers would have declined later, but there wouldn’t have been overcrowding and the subsequent damages,” he pointed out.

‘Dearth of content reason for rereleases’

gang leader still

Chiranjeevi in ‘Gang Leader’. (Supplied)

KL Damodar Prasad, the president of the Telugu Film Producers Council, explained the re-release trend.

Most of the theatres are reporting fewer footfalls these days, particularly after the pandemic.

The small-budget movies that make the news on YouTube seldom run throughout the week.

However, when a superhit film is rereleased, people prefer watching it with family and friends a zillion times, he told South First.

“There is a dearth of content. Post-Covid-19, people are eager to watch big names since they need visual extravaganzas. They prefer watching an old blockbuster movie on big screens instead of a regular formulaic cinema. Under such circumstances, these rereleases could help theatres make business with houseful shows for three days or a week,” he observed.

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He also pointed out that people who own the theatrical rights to a movie are screening the rereleases for the sole purpose of making money.

“When 10 films are rereleased, only one will do good business. And Gang Leader is a different case since it casts none other than the Megastar.”

Fans at sandhya theatre gang leader

Fans at Sandhya 35MM theatre where a special show of ‘Gang Leader’ was screened. (Supplied)

On 24 February, marking actor Nani’s birthday, his superhit film Ala Modalaindi (2011) was re-released.

Produced by Damodar Prasad, the romantic comedy marked the directorial debut of Nandini Reddy.

The TFPC President stated that the rerelease involved no print cost since it was a digital (4K) version. He invested only in digital publicity.

The rerelease of Ala Modalaindi didn’t earn him much but the distributor managed to recover the costs.

At the end of the day, the industry will be healthy and there will be a lot of rotation if a hero does three films a year. Also, the theatres will not run into losses.

“The reason why people are not going to the regular cinema is because of false publicity. They stopped trusting the reviews, too. Thanks to content-based films, they prefer OTT over theatrical releases,” Prasad said.

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