Rajinikanth mania grips Tamil Nadu as Petta hits screen

Rajinikanth in Petta

The much-awaited Rajinikanth-starrer 'Petta' hit screens worldwide amid much fanfare Thursday with two fan couples in the state choosing the occasion to tie the knot and another piercing his skin as part of special prayers for the success of the flick. Elated fans danced to drumbeats and poured 'milk' on huge cuts-out of the 69-year-old actor outside theatres across the state. Crackers were burst and cakes cut ahead of the release of the movie at a cinema hall in Salem district as early as 4 AM.

In Thanjavur town, bridegroom Jothiraman, an ardent Rajini fan and bride Usha Rani entered into wedlock on the occasion. "I have been a diehard fan of Rajinikanth from childhood.. Getting married on the day when his movie is released is a dream come true for me. I thank him.." said Jothiraman. Similarly, Anbarasu another fan of the actor married his girlfriend, Kamatchi at the famous Woodlands theatre here. Taking the excitement a notch higher, another fan in Nagapattinam district pierced his skin with hooks and spikes to show his devotion for the actor. A fan club of the Tamil 'Superstar' in Mumbai organised special prayers for the movie's success.

A five-minute video of the members of 'Maharashtra State Head Rajinikanth Welfare Association' offering special prayers has gone viral. Produced by Sun Pictures, it is directed by 'Pizza' fame Karthik Subbaraj and music scored by Anirudh. Besides Bollywood actor Nawazuddin Siddiqi and Vijay Sethupathy, the film's star cast includes actresses Simran and Trisha and actor-director Sasikumar.

'Petta', roughly translating into one's local stronghold in Tamil, released along with the Ajith-Nayanthara-starrer Viswasam directed by Siva. Meanwhile, Subburaj took to Twitter to express his gratitude to the fans following the 'overwhelming' response for the film. "#Petta response is so over-whelming and awesome.. Thank you Thalaivar fans.. Love you Thalaivaaa.. Thank you @sunpictures & whole team!!", he said. He also appealed to the fans not to share video clips from the theatre. "Our sincere request:: PLS DON'T SHARE FILM CLIPS FROM THEATRE.. PLS DONT REVEAL THE STORY.. Let everybody #GetRajinified like you did."

A report from Villupuram district said six fans of actor Ajith Kumar suffered minor injuries when a huge cut-out of the 47-year-old actor erected outside a theatre in Thirukovilur collapsed and fell on them.

Also read: Karthik Subbaraj: Proud to have directed Petta as a Rajinikanth fanboy

Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever