Chennai start-ups book entire cinema halls to watch Rajinikanth-starrer Kabali

On July 22, fans of superstar Rajinikanth working in Tamil Nadu's capital will wish they were employed at a startup.
As the opening date of the latest Rajinistarrer Kabali nears, city startups are all prepped to welcome the much-anticipated movie in style. Most are not ready to settle for anything less than a 'first day first show (FDFS)'.
Fan-employers of the 'Thalaivar' (leader) are booking entire cinema halls for their employees, making fans outside the startup ecosystem go green with envy.
At online customer support software provider FreshDesk, it is becoming a tradition that when a Rajinikanth movie is released, the entire office heads to watch it.
Girish Mathrubootham, who cofounded the company exactly a week after the release in 2010 of Rajini blockbuster Enthiran, took the entire office to watch Kochadaiiyaan and Lingaa when they were released in 2014. He is not disappointing his team this time too.
"We are planning to take our employees (to watch the movie) on the Saturday after the release and are in talks with Satyam Cinemas. We are looking to accommodate everyone at the main screen which has a capacity of almost 600 people," said Vignesh Vijayakumar, who heads marketing at FreshDesk.
Every movie release of his is accompanied by hype, and frenzied fans make a beeline to catch the first show. At hyper-local delivery website Oyethere.com, founder S Shriram has booked two Inox screens for Kabali, an eponymous gangster-drama.
Shriram, who started the practice in 2007 by booking an auditorium for Sivaji after failing to get four tickets for the movie, has continued with it for other Rajini starrers like Kuselan, Enthiranand Lingaa. This time the offer has been extended to customers and staff as well.