The three-year freeze on early morning movie shows in Tamil Nadu came to an end as theatres recently received special permission to screen six daily shows, triggering massive celebrations among movie buffs.
Special early morning shows had remained prohibited since the 2023 Pongal release of Ajith Kumar’s ‘Thunivu’, when a young fan lost his life after falling from a tanker lorry during celebrations. The restriction was carried forward by successive administrations, extending even to the recent release of actor-politician Vijay’s final outing ‘Jananyagan’.
However, following sustained representations from theatre owners’ associations, the state cleared the screening of six shows per day. Kicking off the revised schedule, the opening show of Suriya’s latest feature ‘Scene’ commenced at 6 AM, with thousands of fans flocking to cinema halls from the crack of dawn, bursting crackers, dancing, and welcoming the Deepavali festive season with high-energy fanfare.