'Salaar': BookMyShow, Paytm crash as movie lovers scramble for tickets for Prabhas-starrer in Hyderabad

Movie ticket booking platforms like BookMyShow and Paytm crashed in Hyderabad on Tuesday as movie lovers made a dash online to grab tickets for Prabhas-starrer 'Salaar'. The Prashanth Neel-directorial, which promises high octane action sequences involving Prabhas, Prithviraj Sukumaran, is releasing on December 22 with sky high expectations. 

Hombale Films-produced 'Salaar: Part One- Ceasefire' got a big boost with Telangana government allowing 1 am shows on Day 1 at select screens. The Revanth Reddy-led government allowed hike of Rs 65 and Rs 100 for single screen and multiplexes, respectively from December 22-28.

"Even after 2 hours the server is still not working THIS IS PRABHAS STARDOM," said one X user. 

Videos of Prabhas' fans lining up in long queues at Hyderabad's Sandhya theatre to purchase tickets went viral on social media. One video even showed policemen using lathis to bring the crowd under control. 

A box office showdown is expected between 'Salaar' and Rajkumar Hirani’s 'Dunki'. The latter, starring Shah Rukh Khan, will hit the screens a day before 'Salaar' on Thursday.

'Salaar' also stars Shruti Haasan, Eshwari Rao, Jagapathi Babu and Sriya Reddy.

Recently, in an interview, Neel acknowledged that Prabhas has had a difficult run at the box office with his recent releases 'Adipurush' and 'Radhe Shyam', he said a star can always bounce back after a hit film.

“Prabhas is a big star. After ‘Baahubali’, he became the biggest star. People are not going to forget something like that. Stars have always been stars; they can have one flop or 20 flops, they just need to give one hit. Recently, Shah Rukh Khan showed us that a star is always a star, there’s no denying that,” Neel added.

Netizens also praised new Telangana CM Revanth Reddy for allowing 1 am shows, which were last seen in Hyderabad in 2015. 

Industry tracker Sacnilk on Tuesday said 'Salaar' crossed Rs 10 crore milestone in terms of gross advance bookings by selling over 4 lakh tickets in India for opening day while 'Dunki' isn't far behind at Rs 9 crore.