‘Hari Hara Veera Mallu' opens to fan frenzy

The Hindu

3 days ago

Fans erupted in celebration as 'Hari Hara Veera Mallu', starring Deputy Chief Minister and Jana Sena Party (JSP) President K. Pawan Kalyan, hit theatres on Thursday. The movie marks his return to the big screen after more than two years, the movie premiere drew overwhelming crowds, despite increased ticket prices.
Enthusiastic fans flocked to cinema theatres across Visakhapatnam city to witness the premier shows, which began screening from late on Wednesday night. Celebrations broke out at multiple venues, with fans bursting firecrackers and performing 'abhishekam' on posters and large cut-outs of their beloved star. At Jagadamba Theatre, a giant cut-out of Pawan Kalyan was unveiled.
Social media platforms were flooded with selfies and videos, especially from women fans, capturing their excitement. As Pawan Kalyan appeared on screen, theatres turned into festive grounds, with fans throwing 'pieces of coloured papers', dancing and even climbing onto the podiums in sheer euphoria. Many fans shared their status on social media with pictures of PK, and captioned it 'long time no see,' marking the actor's cinematic comeback.
On Friday, screenings will begin as early as 7 a.m. Single-screen theatres are running up to five shows a day, while multiplexes have scheduled upto 10 to 15 screenings daily through the weekend.
In Visakhapatnam alone, over 180 shows are scheduled for Friday, all of which have sold out in advance, with similar demand expected to continue on Saturday and Sunday.
Adding to the celebratory mood, JSP leaders and supporters organised bike rallies and prayer ceremonies at temples, for the film's success. Local MLAs, including Panchakarla Ramesh Babu, Sundarapu Vijay Kumar, and Ch Vamsikrishna Srinivas, actively participated in these events.
So far, the film has received mixed reactions. While many fans praised Pawan Kalyan's presence and energy in the first half, they felt the second half could have been tighter. They background score was widely appriciated.
'Our Power Star's powerful entry, high-octane fight sequences and the first half have been spectacular. VFX and the second half of the movie could have been better,' said K. Krishna, who works in the city police department and is a hardcore fan of PK.