Salman Khan's "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" is a blockbuster film not just in India, but also in Pakistan. Theatres in the country are witnessing a huge rush even after almost two weeks of the film's release. It seems Pakistani movie buffs have fallen in love with Salman Khan and his portrayal of the character 'Pawan Kumar Chaturvedi' in "Bajrangi Bhaijaan".
The craze among people to watch "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" is so high in Pakistan that cinema tickets are reportedly being sold in black.
"It is house-full at all theatres, big or small and one can actually see people fighting amongst themselves outside cinemas over tickets, like never before," Hindustan Times quoted a Pakistani TV channel as saying.
Apparently, the Kabir Khan directorial makes Pakistanis emotional. The positive message of the Salman Khan starrer is doing the magic.
"I have been working in this business for the last seven years but I never witnessed such a large number of people coming out of the cinema hall. They have tears in their eyes after every show of Bajrangi Bhaijaan," NDTV quoted Cine Star Cinema official, Shahram Raza in Lahore, as saying.
"As the show ends, most of them, especially women come out with tears in their eyes. In other movies, people come out talking loudly when the show ends but in the case of Bajrangi Bhaijaan, I hardly hear any chat. Emotional storyline of the film has made people relate to the movie," Raza added.
The report also quoted a Pakistani viewer. "The general public in both Pakistan and India is peace loving and that is why this movie is so widely appreciated in Pakistan and must be, out in India as well. I would love to watch this movie again and again as such a film is not made every day."
Pakistan Film Exhibitors Association Chairman, Zoraiz Lashari said: "There has been a phenomenal response from the public as over 80 cinemas of the country are jam-packed since Eid to watch Bajrangi Bhaijaan. People from all walks of life and of all age groups are standing in queues to book their seats in cinema halls for it. The film has already entered second week but is still showing superb performance at the Box Office."
Earlier, the Pakistan Censor Board Chief, Fakhr-E-Alam, had praised "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" on Twitter saying: "Infact bajrangi bhai jaan is the most positive film for Pakistan that Bollywood has produced in a long time. Totally unexpected."