Ajay Devgn celebrates his birthday with BookASmile through a special screening of ‘Bholaa’ for 100 young, underprivileged beneficiaries in Mumbai

~ Continuing its efforts to create impact through entertainment, BookASmile, the charity initiative of BookMyShow organized this special screening on the occasion of the actor’s birthday to

spread smiles through the magic of movies ~

National, April 02, 2023: Films continue to be an integral part of India’s cultural fabric that contribute to our lives in more ways than one. Especially amongst the younger demographic, movies shape perception, personalities and progression. Even in a high-octane metro like Mumbai, the number of youth that have never watched a film in the theatre might leave you surprised!

In line with spreading cheer through cinema and keeping up with its core belief of creating impact through entertainment, BookASmile, the charity initiative of BookMyShow, India’s leading entertainment destination organised a special screening of Bholaa, the action-thriller starring Ajay Devgn and Tabu for young, underprivileged beneficiaries from Mumbai. To bring alive this initiative, BookASmile partnered with Ajay Devgn FFilms and Spark-A-Change Foundation to take the magic of movies through the special screening at PVR Cinemas, Juhu, for 100 beneficiaries from lower economic backgrounds. These beneficiaries are first-generation students from low-income backgrounds living in the slum-dwelling areas of Mumbai suburbs associated with Spark-A-Change Foundation.

What made this experience even more special for the youth present was Ajay Devgn graciously spending time on his birthday with them, talking about the world of movies, dreams and life in general that left them in awe, with hearts full of emotion and wide smiles spread across their faces. Ajay shared many moments of love and laughter with the young guns in a heart-warming celebration over cupcakes and loud, excited songs wishing him a Happy Birthday. He was specially touched when they presented him with handmade greeting cards. His son Yug Devgan had accompanied him and was equally touched to be present amidst the young beneficiaries.

Ajay Devgn, Actor, Director and Producer of Bholaa, said, “I am truly humbled by the love that I have received from these young superstars today. They loved Bholaa, shared their favourite parts from the film with so much enthusiasm, spoke so fondly of my action sequences in the movies. It was a touching and truly lovely experience for me. I am grateful to BookASmile for putting this special screening together and making my birthday truly meaningful. I applaud their efforts in creating impact through entertainment and spreading smiles across so many young ones.”

Speaking about the special initiative, Farzana Cama Balpande, Head - BookASmile said, "We absolutely loved the reactions from the special young audience when they watched the film on the big screen. It's always such a treat to catch their excitement and enthusiasm. The emotions expressed by the young guns were further amplified when they saw Ajay, an actor so legendary whom they saw on the screen moments before he personally came to meet them in real life and celebrated such an intimate occasion of his birthday with them! We are so appreciative of Ajay and his team for being so gracious and helping us spread smiles, making entertainment more meaningful and truly make this Sunday morning special for the beneficiaries.”

Through the special screening of Bholaa, the theatre was filled with chuckles, claps and nail-biting moments as the youth enjoyed their morning matinee on the big screen, enjoying every bit of the cinematic experience as the story weaved around its many twists and turns.

BookASmile recently concluded another initiative ‘Reels in Wheels’ that took the cinematic experience of watching a film on the big screen to over 350 villages across India spanning 12 states, including Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana. Through the initiative, BookASmile was able to spread the magic of movies with the ‘Reels in Wheels’ van and enable #SmilesForMiles for more than 72,000 men, women and children across rural Indian villages who got the opportunity to watch popular regional movies such as Bhirkit (Marathi), K.G.F: Chapter 2 (Hindi), Lekh (Punjabi), Tu Mora OK (Odia), My Dear Bootham (Tamil), Malayankunju (Malayalam), Acharya (Telugu) in a specialised curated open–air setup.