Rajnikanth fans made a beeline at theatres where the advance booking for Sivaji commenced in Chennai on Sunday.

Living up to the pre-release hype, the movie's advance booking witnessed tremendous response with tickets for the first week sold out in all the 18 screens in less than a couple of hours. Sivaji is AVM's mega budget film and it may turn out to be the most expensive film ever made in the country.      

Directed by Shankar, the film has music by composer A R Rahman. Starring Shriya opposite Rajnikanth, Sivaji has been in the making for the last 19 months. A festive atmosphere prevailed at the Abirami Complex, Devi Theatre, Sathyam Cinemas, Albert and Udhayam Complex, with ardent Rajnikanth fans waiting in long queues since early this morning to book their tickets braving the scorching sun.

At several areas, traffic snarls were reported and the policemen deployed in large numbers to regulate the crowd. At several theatres, the hardcore Rajnikanth fans performed pal abhishekams and broke coconuts to coincide with the commencement of ticket sales.