'Padmaavat' opens in Haryana, Punjab to 'good response'

With scores of armed policemen and private guards stationed in and around multiplexes and cinema halls in Haryana and Punjab, the screening of the Hindi film "Padmaavat" began in both states on Thursday to a good response from viewers.

Security personnel were stationed outside leading malls and cinema halls where the film is being screened since Wednesday. The Haryana and Punjab Police did not want to take any chances in view of the violence witnessed in Gurugram, adjoining Delhi, on Wednesday.

Cinema hall managers said the film was getting a good response from people.

"We normally have 5-6 shows every day for films. But for 'Padmaavat', we have 12 shows daily in view of the high demand," a cinema hall owner in Sirsa town in Haryana said.

The film was being screened in other places in Haryana also even though some cinema halls and multiplexes had opted not to screen it amid the tension and threats of violence.

The BJP government in Haryana had earlier imposed a ban on screening of the film in the state but the Supreme Court stayed the ban.

Screening of the film started under tight security in Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala and other places in Punjab.

In Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, "Padmaavat" got off to a good start.

"We are a group of ladies who are going to watch this movie - first day, first show. There is enough security and media outside the theatre to control things," a city resident, Guddi Thakur, said.

--IANS

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