*Photo credit: KBC Cinemas, Fukuoka
Finally, I stepped into the world of Japanese (Fukuokan) Mahishmatians.
In the evening of 2nd June 2018, on the occasion of Baahubali full-version theatre release in Japan*, I got an opportunity to participate in Zekkyo (screaming) screening. It's a special type of screening in Japan, where people are allowed to applaud the name of their favorite character in the movie and also enjoy shaking tambourines and waving glow sticks to add the effect to your excitement.
Having been curious for a long time, I went to experience this special Zekkyo screening of Baahubali 2 - The Conclusion in my hometown Fukuoka with my friends J-san and R-san, both of them are very curious yet not actively aware of Baahubali sensation in Japan. The result was excellent. While J-san had been initially afraid of falling asleep in between considering the record lengthy 3-hour of screening time, it turned out to be okay! In fact, she was all the time most excited audience in the theatre!
The capacity of about 130 people with around a dozen added temporary seats, KBC Cinema Screen 1 was filled fully packed with Fukuokan Mahishmatian.
Frankly speaking, though, I am not very fond of this "let's get together" type of screening. I would rather like to see movies silently and alone. This day, too, I caught my regular symptom migraine in between, and thus could not "scream" on the screen at all.
However, the real fun moments were when my friends, who had seemed to be somewhat skeptical about so-called "masala movie," were utterly captivated by the grand-scale of the story and instantly fell in love with Baahubali. In fact, being excited, we all went to a small bar near the theatre after the screening to discuss more details!
The best part of that night was that the theatre allowed us to exchange each other among fans, in spite of the timing of all the curtain-call ended was about midnight (around 11:45 PM.) I think such arrangements have helped bond the Mahishmatians in Japan. Fukuoka fans seemed to be a bit too shy yet to cosplay, but I spotted a few in traditional Indian attires, such as sarees and salwar-kameez. I also wore the silk saree given by Mrs. Satoko Damle brought from Pune.
When I tweeted that I found a few Telugu words that are common in Marathi too, such as Mama (for Katappa, मामा,) Narak (नरक,) Samudra (समुद्र,) Prema (प्रेम,) immediately, a Buddhist monk and a philosopher who recently wrote a book about a new perspective of Buddha and Buddhism, added me the following input.
As such, I was all the time recalling Twitter Mahishmatian's knowledgeful inputs and information over the time. One of those essential tips was made from @chitrini how to wear the saree from Mrs. Damle without petticoat free from being bothered by coming undone.
How-to Drape Films
There as a moment when most of the audience remained quiet; the time Devasena performed my favorite song because this had been also cut in the international version.
At the end of April, S.S. Rajamauli and the producer Shobu Yarlagadda visited Tokyo and participated in Zekkyo-jouei there. Their visit, the interview to the director, and Baahubali have been big news and featured in different media in Japan, including an established literature magazine Eureka.
Eureka (ユリイカ) - Baahubai Special edition - Kindle version
You can find "Baahubali in Japan" related articles from the following:
When Katappa-san killed Baahubali-san: SS Rajamouli’s films are the latest fan favorite in Japan - Scroll.in
ASKSiddhi:
Why is Baahubali Super-hit in Japan? Yoko Deshmukh Says
Why is Baahubali Super-hit in Japan? Here comes What Tenjikukitan-san Says
Why Baahubali is Super-hit in Japan? Shironeko-san Says
Baahubali Sensations In Japan: Voices from Japanese Mahishmatians
Why Baahubali The Movies So Popular in Japan? My Temporary Conclusion
Finally Stepped In "Mahishmati Kingdom": Why Baahubali Is Super-hit In Japan!?
*Original full version screening has started in Japan from the 1st June 2018. Till then, the international version of 27 minutes shorter than the original shown on the screen.
