Village Rockstars got off to a rocking start on the first day of its commercial release on Friday, with many theatres reporting near-full houses.
Most of the 34 theatres across Assam where the film was released reported good ticket sales, with a satisfactory number of bookings to ensure good business for Village Rockstars, the first Assamese film to be named the official Indian entry to the 2019 Oscars in the foreign films category.
The proprietor of Kamakhya Films, the distributor of the film for the Northeast, Rajesh More, was satisfied with the number of shows and timings allotted for the film.
More told The Telegraph, “Prime time is different in different theatres in the city and other towns of the state. This is the first Assamese film to be shown at prime time in so many theatres. We are hoping this film will revive the Assamese film industry.”
Theatres like Anuradha Cineplex reported 90 per cent bookings for its 8.15pm show with 100 tickets booked by the film fraternity of Assam, in a move to encourage more people to buy tickets and watch the film in theatres.
Another theatre, Cinepolis, reported that the response is unprecedented for any Assamese film and reported 85 per cent viewership. The premiere at Cinepolis on Thursday saw a full house of 200.
Actors Zerifa Wahid, Barasha Rani Bishoya, Jatin Bora and Kapil Bora, film producer Sahnab Alam, Assam director-general of police Kuladhar Saikia, MLA Rekibuddin Ahmed and former MLA Kamala Kalita, Guwahati Municipal Corporation commissioner Monalisa Goswami and Rima Das’s parents attended the premiere on Thursday evening.
“The Rs 1 crore announced by the state government will not suffice for the promotion of the film at the Oscars and at least three times the amount is required,” added More.
The state government on Friday announced another Rs 50 lakh for filmmaker Rima Das, in addition to the Rs 50 lakh assistance announced earlier.
The day also saw musician Kishore Giri, in his inimitable style, hitting the streets with an appeal to the people and government to help the film’s “Oscar mission with financial cooperation”, to prompt people to buy tickets.
