Actor and Parliamentarian Hema Malini attended the screening of Hindi feature film Krishnavataram – Part 1: The Heart (Hridayam) that was held in her constituency Mathura at JV Cinema on Tuesday evening. Last Sunday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had declared the film tax-free in the state after a special screening.
The veteran actor watched the full film and congratulated the team for making such a large-scale film and screening it at Shri Krishna Janambhoomi. On a video call, she congratulated the director Hardik Gajjar and praised the team for the scale of the film, its canvas, actors’ performances, music, hand-painted costumes, and handcrafted uncut jewellery.
The film’s producer Sajan Raj Kurup, who was present during the screening, said, “Hemaji was all praise for the actors, direction and the production scale of the film. She watched the entire film and came out smiling.”
He added, “We have majorly shot the film in Gujarat – which is Shri Krishna’s karmabhoomi – and then we launched the trailer in Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Mathura. We also took blessings at Banke Bihari Temple, Raman Reti Temple, Radha Rani Temple, Prem Mandir and ISKCON Vrindavan. Now, since the film is doing well across the globe and earning huge accolades, we screened it again here for Hemaji and other important people. We have got enormous blessings from the top religious gurus.”
They released the film in 1,500 plus screens in India, which is expanding, and it is running in 56 countries and doing well, including in Gulf countries. The film is based on author Ram Mori’s acclaimed book Satyabhama.
Tax-free in UP
A screening was held in Lucknow last week where Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Governor Anandiben Patel, Deputy Chief Ministers Brajesh Pathak and Keshav Maurya, along with several ministers and others, watched the film at Lok Bhawan auditorium.
After watching the film, the chief minister praised the film and congratulated the makers and actors present on the occasion – actors Siddharth Gupta (Krishna) and Sanskruti Jayana (Satyabhama), director Hardik Gajjar, producers Sajan Raj Kurup, Shobha Sant and Poonam Shroff, along with other team members.
Sanskruti is the granddaughter of Governor Anandiben Patel. The chief minister asked the Department of Information to arrange a special screening of the film in other state districts so the youngsters can get insight into rich Indian culture and spiritual legacy.
He also tweeted about the same from his official X handle. It read: “Today, in the dignified presence of Hon. Governor Smt. @anandibenpatel Ji, I participated in the special screening of the Hindi film Krishnavataram, based on the divine glory of Yogeshwar Lord Shri Krishna Ji, held in Lucknow with the Hon. members of the Cabinet. On this occasion, the artists associated with the film were also honored. The film Krishnavataram will be tax-free in Uttar Pradesh. Heartiest congratulations and best wishes to all members associated with the film.”