Chennai/Hyderabad/Thiruvanathapuram/New Delhi, June 15 (IANS) It was Rajni mania everywhere Friday with masses across south India standing in serpentine queues to get a ticket for the Tamil superstar's latest release "Sivaji: the Boss", the most expensive film ever made in India.

Whether it was Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram or Hyderabad, scenes outside theatres were the same - people queuing up since the wee hours of the morning, determined not to miss a "first day first show' of the long awaited film from a man who is hailed as one of the country's top showbiz superstars.

Politicians, film stars and fans in Delhi too didn't miss the opportunity to catch the long-awaited movie made with a whopping budget of over Rs.600 million ($15 million). There were even special screenings for VIPs like Finance Minister P. Chidambaram.

The popularity of Rajnikant, one of India's highest paid actors, is often compared to Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan. Asked whether he wanted to be called the king of Indian cinema, he said with humility: "I am the king, but Amitabh Bachchan is the emperor."

Inside packed theatres in Chennai, audiences watched the film - Rajni's first after two years - in rapt silence, in contrast to the wild cheering, dancing and sloganeering witnessed outside earlier.

"I have only two words to describe 'Sivaji'- success, spectacular", said Vishwanathan, a driver who spent nearly 30 percent of his monthly salary to watch the preview Thursday night.

According to Rajni, the film's message to society was that black money bred more grudge, jealousy, greed and grief. The story is about Sivaji, a successful computer nerd who returns from the US to distribute his wealth amongst the poor in his home state of Tamil Nadu.