HITS MALAYSIA AND ELSEWHERE
159th MOVIE: Hundreds of Rajinikanth fans brave the rain to watch KL premiere
THE new Tamil movie Kabali has taken Malaysia by storm. The movie’s posters are plastered all over town, and two giant cardboard cutouts of Tamil movie legend Rajinikanth, the star of the film, grace Federal Cinema here, where the movie premiere was screened.
Kabali T-shirts featuring Rajinikanth are selling like hotcakes, and the movie’s hit song, Nerupuda, is ruling the airwaves.
The T-shirts were the brainchild of entrepreneur Mugen Rao, 21, who is a hardcore fan of the 65-year-old actor.
Rao said orders for the T-shirts came from as far as Singapore.
In Kabali, Rajinikanth, whose real name is Shivaji Rao, plays the character of a Malaysian don known as Kabaliswaran, from which the movie gets its name.
Kabali, Rajinikanth’s 159th movie, first drew the attention of Malaysians, especially Malay movie fans, when prominent local actors Datuk Rosyam Nor, Norman Hakim, Zack Taipan, Tony Kassim, as well as popular Taiwanese actor Winston Chao, were offered roles.
Malik Streams Production and Distribution will release the film in Bahasa Malaysia alongside the original Tamil version exclusively in Malaysia.
Former THR Raaga announcer V. Selvie said: “It is interesting to see Malaysia has so many Rajinikanth fans and that everyone, from all walks of life, is eagerly awaiting the movie’s release.”
The movie’s project manager, T. Veerasegar, said the movie’s premiere was screened at the Federal Cinema here yesterday. The show, by invitation only, was attended by Indian actress Dhansika, who plays Rajinikanth’s daughter in the film.
Veerasegar, who is also Malik Streams Corporation manager, said the movie would be released in 480 cinemas across the country.
He added that the Bahasa Malaysia version of Kabali would be screened on July 29, with a premiere showing on July 28.
Hundreds of Rajinikanth fans braved the rain and heavy traffic to watch the premiere at Federal Cinema yesterday.
When the actor made his onscreen appearance, he was greeted with a round of applause from his fans.
Present were MIC president Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam, his deputy, Datuk Seri S.K. Devamany, Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Datuk M. Saravanan, Malik Streams Corporation managing director Datuk Abdul Malik Dasthigeer and local actors Datuk Jalaluddin Hasan and Norman Hakim.
Dr Subramaniam lauded the move to shoot the movie in Malaysia.
He said about 1,000 Malaysians took part in the making of the movie and that the money spent on it had contributed to the local economy.