Music, mess and Jackie Chan

Pandemonium reigned at the audio launch of Kamal Haasan-starrer Dasavatharam in Chennai

The audio launch of the Kamal Haasan-starrer Dasavatharam at the Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai, yesterday, was an exercise in chaos and confusion.

The mega-budget flick that stars Mallika Sherawat and Asin, had Jackie Chan in attendance. The Hong Kong superstar was specially flown in for the launch. A huge media contingent of over 200 people had also arrived to cover it. But the media could not even enter the stadium. At the time of going to press, it was unclear if the event even took place.

Thousands of fans were expected to attend and yet, the organisers hadn’t bothered to make the necessary arrangements. Things got so bad that the police had to resort to lathi charge and tear-gas shells to disperse the milling crowds outside.

Fans had begun filling in the stadium hours in advance to get a glimpse of the stars. Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini were the special guests. Himesh Reshammiya, who has composed the film’s music was also present. The stadium was filled to capacity hours before the event could begin.

One of the bystanders at the venue said, “I came here with my entire family as we are big fans of Kamal Haasan. It was announced that several stars like Jackie Chan and Amitabh Bachchan would be present.

But it was a big mess.”

Produced by Oscar Ravindran and directed by KS Ravikumar, the film (in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi) has Kamal Haasan essay 10 roles. The actor has also penned the film.

Tushar Joshi