By:
Settu
Shankar
Wednesday,
June
27,
2007
The
superstar
Rajinikanth
mania
has
gripped
Sri
Lanka
too.
The
leading
English
daily,
The
Island,
reported
that
Rajini's
blockbuster
Shivaji
-The
boss
is
screened
41
times
a
day
in
seven
theatres
across
the
island,
with
all
shows
running
to
full
houses.
The
capital
City
Colombo
witnessed
a
historical
turn
up.
According
to
Ramthilak,
a
resident
Journalist
of
the
city,
he
has
never
seen
such
a
big
queue
even
before
the
passport
office
at
the
US
embassy.
Since
half
of
the
population
of
the
city
is
Tamil-speaking,
the
film
is
being
screened
at
four
main
cinema
halls
simultaneously.
The
Cine
City
multiplex
in
downtown
Maradana
has
20
shows
per
day.
The
Multiplex
management
has
raised
the
tickets
from
Rs.250
to
Rs.300
for
Shivaji.
The
film
takes
the
viewer
to
a
world
of
fantasy,
far
from
the
grim
reality
of
Jaffna
and
northern
war
world.
It
seems
the
people
have
forgotten
war,
as
they
queued
up
for
tickets
at
the
Monohara
theatre
in
the
peninsular
of
Jaffna.
The
exhibitor
said
that
the
shows
for
the
second
week
is
also
booked!
The
film
is
running
to
full
houses
in
Trincomalee
in
the
East
and
also
in
the
plantation
areas
in
Central
Sri
Lanka,
which
is
home
to
lakhs
of
Tamil
labourers
of
Indian
origin.
"It
can't
get
bigger
than
this
-
Rajinikanth,
the
superstar
and
style
king,
and
Shankar
the
showman
of
Tamil
cinema,
have
come
together
for
the
first
time
in
Shivaji.
The
good
news
is
that
this
awesome
combo
has
come
out
with
an
entertainment
extravaganza
that
is
deliciously
good
to
savour," says
Daily
Mirror
in
its
review.
However,
Rajini
has
detractors
too.
The
Sri
Lankan
Tamil
website
Tamilnatham
has
posted
an
appeal
to
Sri
Lankan
and
Indian
Tamils
to
boycott
Shivaji
on
the
grounds
that
Rajinikanth
is
a
pro
Kannada
activist!