Rajinikanth’s Padayappa Re-release: Fans Flock To Theatres For FDFS Celebration On Superstar’s 75th Birthday

On Rajinikanth’s 75th birthday, his 1999 film Padayappa, a cult-classic has been re-released in theatres. The film opened to houseful shows, so much so that a theatre in Chennai sold over 10,000 tickets.

Rajinikanth fans flocked to the theatres for Padayappa with the same zeal they have, as if a new film of his was releasing. Several pictures and videos of audience from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have surfaced on X.

Rajinikanth’s Padayappa Re-release: Fans Celebrate Superstar’s 75th Birthday In Theatres

Taking to social media, Ritzy cinema's official x account posted “#PadayappaInRitzyCinemas Opened with a HOUSEFULL Show. 25 Varusham Munnala Epdi Irundhucho Adhe Response. (The response is the same as it was 25 years ago) #Padayappa.”Vishnu Kamal in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, revealed that they sold over 10,000 tickets for Padayappa just at their theatre alone. They wrote, “PADAYAPPA STORM IS HERE. 10,000+ pre-release tickets cleared in style for Padayappa at your Kamala Cinemas. Andrum Indrum Endrum ore Superstar (Then, now, forever, there’s only one superstar).”

Rohini Silver Screens in Chennai sold 15,000 tickets at their theatre. They posted, “PADAYAPPA RAGE! 15,000 tickets sold before release - the highest ever pre-release sales by any cinema theatre for a re-release! Thank you to all #Thalaivar fans for this historic record. 12.12.25 is going to be EPIC!”

As per trade website Sacnilk, the postponement of Karthi's Vaa Vaathiyaar and with no major Tamil releases, it has worked in favour of the re-release of Pdayappa, Data reveals that as soon as bookings opened, 12 out of 25 shows were already near full capacity, with over 2,480 tickets sold quickly. The hourly metrics suggest that the film is outperforming many new releases in terms of occupancy.

Why Is Padayappa Not Streaming On OTT?

As per a video released by the makers, Rajinikanth has revealed the reason behind not selling the film to an OTT platform. He declined several offers to sell the streaming rights because he believes the film is meant to be watched only in theatres. He said, "I did not give the rights to any telecast player, despite multiple requests. I wanted people to watch it only on the big screen. It should be a kondattam (celebration) for fans on my 50th year in cinema, being the producer and writer of the film."Directed by KS Ravikumar, Padayappa also starred Soundarya, Ramya Krishnan, Abbas, Shivaji Ganesan and has music by AR Rahman.