On Sunday evening, the city of Chennai expressed collective heartbreak as news broke that multiplex chain PVR cinemas will be acquiring iconic Chennai brand – SPI Cinemas Pvt Ltd, originally called Sathyam Cinemas.

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PVR in this deal worth close to Rs.850 crore, will be acquiring 71.7% stake in SPI Cinema. But even this whopping amount is shadowed by Chennai’s love for Sathyam. Some movie goers are already hatching plans to buy back the shares from PVR.

Netizens rushed to social media to vent their feelings at the thought of their favourite theatre in the city losing its flavour. And by that they mean Sathyam’s legendary butter popcorn and the accompanying flavours. Those who are not from Chennai or haven’t visited this theatre in Royapettah are probably wondering what all the fuss is about. I mean, it is just popcorn right?

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But Sathyam Cinema loyalists don’t lose heart just yet. On Monday SPI Cinemas said, “From your love for our popcorn and cold coffee, to your outrage when things didn’t go our way, SPI cinemas could have never been what is it today without you. While it’s only natural for you to wonder what this means for brand SPI, we want to let you know that this decision is not solely a business decision but one that is based on the larger picture. The SPI culture will continue to be what it has always been – passionate, pioneering and inclusive. The core SPI team led by Swaroop and I, will continue to nurture and shape your experiences by preserving everything you love about us – from the people to the food to our commitment to excellence, all of it will remain intact.”

So I did the math. If every Chennainte pays Rs.1214, we can buy back #SathyamCinemas. And if you can’t understand why we feel this way about this place, just read an old article of mine about the extent they went to get us ‘the best popcorn in the world’. https://t.co/S8sTFi7GEI

— Vishal Menon (@Vishal1Menon) August 13, 2018

| Guys can we all pool in and collect 850 crores and 1 rupee? Just checking. Need to save something that’s going to die.

— Prasanth Selvarasu (@sp_ielberg) August 12, 2018

That includes the popcorn, the cream donuts, the giant puff, the works. With both SPI’s owners Kiran Reddy and Swaroop Reddy continuing as CEO and President respectively,  patrons are assured the full “Sathyam experience” for now.

SPI Cinemas’ statement comes after massive outpouring of disappointment by people. And all of them agreed that popcorn is a word. But Sathyam popcorn is an emotion.

Raise your hand if you honestly don’t understand the deal with ‘Sathyam Popcorn’. — feeling searching for enlightenment

— pavith (@pavithrockz) August 13, 2018

From my TL, I see that the butter popcorn (??) @ Sathyam is treated like prasadam. Am I right? Or is it something else? 🙂

— Hemanth Kumar C R (@crhemanth) August 12, 2018

But Sathyam Cinema loyalists don’t lose heart just yet. On Monday SPI Cinemas said, “From your love for our popcorn and cold coffee, to your outrage when things didn’t go our way, SPI cinemas could have never been what is it today without you. While it’s only natural for you to wonder what this means for brand SPI, we want to let you know that this decision is not solely a business decision but one that is based on the larger picture. The SPI culture will continue to be what it has always been – passionate, pioneering and inclusive. The core SPI team led by Swaroop and I, will continue to nurture and shape your experiences by preserving everything you love about us – from the people to the food to our commitment to excellence, all of it will remain intact.”

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That includes the popcorn, the cream donuts, the giant puff, the works. With both SPI’s owners Kiran Reddy and Swaroop Reddy continuing as CEO and President respectively,  patrons are assured the full “Sathyam experience” for now.

SPI Cinemas’ statement comes after massive outpouring of disappointment by people. And all of them agreed that popcorn is a word. But Sathyam popcorn is an emotion.

There was a time I went movies only for this popcorn! cause HAPPINESS comes in SATHYAM POPCORN🙏#popcornFTW🏆 #sathyam #SPIcineams #chennaipride #chennaiicon @SPICinemas pic.twitter.com/PqrHcnO5CB

— Ramya Chockalingam (@ramichocks) August 12, 2018

Dear PVR, you will run out of business if you change the Popcorn at Sathyam. People go for movies just for that.

— Vignesh (@Vignesh_Sridh) August 12, 2018

Never a fan of any popcorn. But Sathyam donuts are special though I rarely buy anything to eat inside cinemas. https://t.co/p4aV8riBzx

— Tamizh_Muttley/Master of Roster/Future Governor (@Tamizh_Muttley) August 12, 2018

This is horrible! PVR has shitty popcorn and nothing beats Sathyam icecream #popcorn #dontmesswithmymoviesnacks https://t.co/bpqFDG7QQh

— AkhilaVijayaraghavan (@aksvi) August 13, 2018

But it is not just the food that has created such a loyal fan base for Sathyam cinemas. Theatre loyalists further talk about great picture quality and the four way speakers that give high precision in all frequency ranges. What more, the theatre charges nominally for parking and movies always begin on time.

With PVR taking over, movie goers expressed concern about show timings and prices. For those familiar with Chennai, Sathyam is part of their childhood and holds a treasured place in their memories.

A Girl from Chennai also shared a heart melting story of her with the Sathyam Cinemas in the title “Why #SPIcinemas aka #Sathyam will be close to my heart forever.” 

For those familiar with Chennai, Sathyam is part of their childhood and holds a treasured place in their memories.

And to sum it all up, here is what Chennai feels about this deal –

You sell it to who you want, I will always call it #Sathyam

— Siddharth (@Actor_Siddharth) August 12, 2018