So I watched Enthiran last night at a special pre-screening show that cost us a whopping $25.00 apiece! It was worth every cent and then some!
The show was at 6 pm and yet, by the time we reached the theater it was already 5.35 pm. Luckily for us, some of our friends who had reached much earlier had reserved seats for us. Now there was a huge controversy over seat reservations as well! A few folks who arrived a little earlier than us and could not find decent seats were pretty miffed and went to the extent of complaining to the manager of the theater! Apparently our friends were at the receiving end of several cold glares and angry outbursts when they refused to let people sit in the empty seats next to them. So before we knew it, the hall was packed. Every single seat was occupied and people were still streaming in. The manager then had to put folding chairs in the aisles to accommodate those that they were standing.
And then the madness set in. The titles started rolling in and the crowd went berserk when the superstar's name flashed on the screen in big bold letters. There was a deafening roar accompanied by loud whistling and strips of paper and confetti being thrown all over the place. I had never ever seen such a display of devotion ever! Normally, Rajni makes a very dramatic entry in all his movies but in Enthiran, his entry was very muted and they stuck to the validity of the script and didn't go overboard which I absolutely loved! From then on it was total paisa wasool! There was an overload of Rajni on the screen. Every dialogue and every dance step was cheered loudly right upto the very end. My friend , who was sitting next to me had found recently that she was pregnant and she is a huge Rajnikanth fan. She had come well prepared with a huge army training whistle that she was perpetually blowing! Call it pregnancy hormones or just plain devotion to the superstar, she had the time of her life!! And so did I! I enjoyed myself to the hilt and found myself screaming and dancing along with everybody else. The thing to note was that 95% of the folks in the theater last evening were all in their 20s or 30s and yet they were rooting for the superstar and seemed to worship the ground he walked on.
I will not review the movie here but I will say that it was very entertaining and very well made. The graphics were absolutely gorgeous and Rajni outdid himself as the villain. The only sore point of the movie to me was Aishwarya Rai. She looked so out of place in the whole scheme of things and generally got on my nerves.
I went in wanting to watch a movie and what I got was a complete experience! Such was the power of Rajni!
Edited to add : Anyone catch the lyrics of the "Kilimanjaro" song? Holy Cow! It felt like the script of a porn movie while reading the subtitles on screen!
