<p>Suburbs of this metropolis woke up early to welcome Tamil superstar Rajinikanth and popular actor Ajith Kumar into theatres through their Pongal release <span class="italic">Petta</span> and <span class="italic">Viswasam</span>, respectively.</p>.<p>Although more than two dozen screens on the outskirts of the city had planned special shows — as early as 4 am — the celebrations began much early on Wednesday evening.</p>.<p>This Pongal, on January 15, the Tamil film industry for the first time in five years is witnessing release of movies of two giants — Rajinikanth and Ajith, though the latter seems to have won the pre-release war by bagging more theatres for <span class="italic">Viswasam</span>.</p>.<p>Shows in Chennai suburbs were scheduled to begin at 4 am, while in the city it will begin only after 7 am. All seats for the special 4 am shows in almost all theatres, mostly single screens, around Chennai have been sold out amid celebrations outside the theatres.</p>.<p>Rajini fans performed 'arti' for the huge cut-outs of their Thalaivar and bathe his hoardings with milk. Almost all tickets for the first two days in screens in and around Chennai for both <span class="italic">Petta</span> and <span class="italic">Viswasam</span> have been booked, reinforcing the actors’ sway over their fans.</p>.<p>Kasi and Albert theatre complexes, known for huge celebrations on the day Rajini movie releases, wore a festive look on Wednesday evening with giant cut-outs being installed by fans.</p>.<p>“The trailer promises to bring back the good-old Thalaivar on the screen. It will definitely be a blockbuster. I will watch the 4 am show in the suburbs and come to Kasi Theatre for the morning show,” Armugham, a die-hard Rajini fan, told <span class="italic">DH</span>.</p>.<p>There is greater excitement over <span class="italic">Petta</span> since the trailer promises the ingredients for a trademark Rajinikanth movie — a stylish Rajini, punch dialogues and the love scenes — unlike his previous ventures like <span class="italic">Kabali</span> and <span class="italic">Kaala,</span> which were critically-acclaimed but did not perform well at the box office.</p>.<p>The frenzy that is quintessential for a Rajinikanth movie was missing in the beginning, but the momentum is slowly building up with tickets for the week-end selling fast, though the speed cannot be compared with that of <span class="italic">Kabali</span> and <span class="italic">Endhiran</span>.</p>
<p>Suburbs of this metropolis woke up early to welcome Tamil superstar Rajinikanth and popular actor Ajith Kumar into theatres through their Pongal release <span class="italic">Petta</span> and <span class="italic">Viswasam</span>, respectively.</p>.<p>Although more than two dozen screens on the outskirts of the city had planned special shows — as early as 4 am — the celebrations began much early on Wednesday evening.</p>.<p>This Pongal, on January 15, the Tamil film industry for the first time in five years is witnessing release of movies of two giants — Rajinikanth and Ajith, though the latter seems to have won the pre-release war by bagging more theatres for <span class="italic">Viswasam</span>.</p>.<p>Shows in Chennai suburbs were scheduled to begin at 4 am, while in the city it will begin only after 7 am. All seats for the special 4 am shows in almost all theatres, mostly single screens, around Chennai have been sold out amid celebrations outside the theatres.</p>.<p>Rajini fans performed 'arti' for the huge cut-outs of their Thalaivar and bathe his hoardings with milk. Almost all tickets for the first two days in screens in and around Chennai for both <span class="italic">Petta</span> and <span class="italic">Viswasam</span> have been booked, reinforcing the actors’ sway over their fans.</p>.<p>Kasi and Albert theatre complexes, known for huge celebrations on the day Rajini movie releases, wore a festive look on Wednesday evening with giant cut-outs being installed by fans.</p>.<p>“The trailer promises to bring back the good-old Thalaivar on the screen. It will definitely be a blockbuster. I will watch the 4 am show in the suburbs and come to Kasi Theatre for the morning show,” Armugham, a die-hard Rajini fan, told <span class="italic">DH</span>.</p>.<p>There is greater excitement over <span class="italic">Petta</span> since the trailer promises the ingredients for a trademark Rajinikanth movie — a stylish Rajini, punch dialogues and the love scenes — unlike his previous ventures like <span class="italic">Kabali</span> and <span class="italic">Kaala,</span> which were critically-acclaimed but did not perform well at the box office.</p>.<p>The frenzy that is quintessential for a Rajinikanth movie was missing in the beginning, but the momentum is slowly building up with tickets for the week-end selling fast, though the speed cannot be compared with that of <span class="italic">Kabali</span> and <span class="italic">Endhiran</span>.</p>