Fans in Chennai cane-charged at movie function

Chennai, April 25 (IANS) Dozens of people were injured during a police cane-charge to control frenzied crowds here Friday during the audio launch of Kamal Hassan-starrer 'Dasavatharam', an eyewitness said.

The stars on stage included Kamal Hassan, Jackie Chan and Amitabh Bachchan besides Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi.

'Tempers are running high - on the side of the police as well as the fans. While the fans think that they have been cheated of a peek at the stars, the uniformed fraternity seems to feel that they are doing a thankless job confounded by poor organisation,' A.R. Laxman, a music company executive attending the function, told IANS.

Earlier, Jackie Chan and Bachchan where whisked away from the Anna International Air Terminal in bullet-proof limousines by producer Oscar Ravichandran to the Taj Coromandel Hotel on Mahatma Gandhi Road in the heart of the city.

There was confusion at the Nehru Stadium. The venue was chaotic as thousands of passes were distributed among mainstays of Kollywood, Kamal Hassan fans, top brass of music company Sony BMG and leading lights of the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, said Laxman.

Police officials admitted that their security detail was unusually tight due to the presence of too many stars and Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi.

'We will breathe easy when this event gets over uneventfully,' a police officer said on condition of anonymity.