Pushpa 2: Angry fans in Gujarat protest delayed screening, deface multiplex property

When the show did not begin even half an hour after 6.20 am, angry protestors took on the management and demanded a refund. Harsh Singh, a residential student from a private university in Waghodia, told The Indian Express, “Five of my friends and I wanted to catch the movie before the university lecture. We had been waiting for the film since ‘Pushpa: The Rise’ was released. Accordingly, when we realised that the film would have the first show at 6.20 am, we immediately booked tickets. We were excited and left Waghodia at 5 am in order to avoid delays. However, the irresponsible behaviour of the multiplex ruined our day.”

Singh said that the show commenced after 8.30 am and left the group with no choice but to miss the University lecture. “We had paid so much for the tickets and the management was not willing to refund easily as the show had begun, eventually.”

While the management of the multiplex called the Manjalpur police station to control the situation after the angry protestors damaged posters and LED screens, police officials of Vadodara city police said no offence was booked.

An officer of the Manjalpur police station said, “Two staff members tried to calm down the crowd. The multiplex had not cancelled the show but due to an operational delay, they were unable to begin on time. We asked the people to not take the law in their hands.”

A similar scene played out at the multiplex’s Jamnagar franchise when the 6 am show was delayed. The police in Jamnagar rushed to the spot to bring the crowd under control.

A staff member of the Vadodara multiplex said, “The hard drive, which is an encrypted USB stick containing the digital cinema package (DCP) of the film, had not arrived in time at the multiplexes although the movie was scheduled to have the first show at 6.20 am. The moment we received the file and the key, it was immediately released. We had requested the people to understand the problem as there was no cancellation planned. A few people who sought refunds were handed over the same. Several people also chose to eventually watch the film.”