Chandigarh, Oct. 20 -- This Diwali, crackers in Chandigarh are getting a Hollywood twist. From Matrix Reloaded and Fast and Furious to Game of Thrones and Avengers, fireworks featuring stills from English movies and TV shows have taken over the markets. While the UT has allotted 12 sites for the sale of crackers this year, shopkeepers are reporting slugging sales, with an estimated 30% drop compared to last year. However, they are still hopeful of drawing some buyers through attractive packaging. Raghuvir, who has set up a stall in Sector 49, said, "The trend of having movie stills on cracker packaging first started when the second Avatar movie came out in 2022. That year, some cracker companies took a chance with the movie visuals and found good sales. Ever since then, cracker companies have started betting on popular movies, TV shows and sports teams." When it comes to TV shows, Game of Thrones remains popular while older ones such as Dexter also feature on various crackers. Kishore Kumar, who has a stall in Sector 33, added that while such visuals are popular among the youngsters, their parents still prefer to go with Cock brand crackers. Bollywood movie stills are rare though Aamir Khan-starrer 'Three Idiots' got an honourable mention on some crackers. Shah Rukh Khan's famous 'Yanna Rascala' dialogue in Om Shanti Om also adorned one of the biggest crackers in the market. Football fans will have a reason to rejoice as pictures of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will also greet them on crackers. The rivalry between two of the greatest footballers of all time is reignited on a multi-shot crackers which sell for Rs.6,000 in the market. IPL-themed crackers with Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore logos are also popular, along with player images of KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan. WWE stars like John Cena and Randy Orton, and cartoon characters such as Tom and Jerry, Doraemon, and Mickey Mouse adorn crackers for younger children. While bursting crackers is seen as an activity for kids, cracker stall owners claim that young men in their twenties are now their target clientele. Manohar Lal, who has a stall in Sector 49, explains that youngsters don't have much interest in crackers and prefer smaller crackers like anaars or phoolchadhis. This is due to campaigns undertaken in their schools. However, youngsters in their 20s are the ones who buy the bigger crackers. Demand for an extra day of sales Chandigarh crackers association general secretary Chirag Aggarwal said the association is demanding that the cracker market be allowed to open an extra day on October 21 as some people will celebrate Diwali on Wednesday. He added that the authorities need to allot more markets in the Northern Sectors. The cracker dealers also complained of unnecessary interference by the local cops, even as the UT estate office is the body which governs them. They alleged that beat cops were frequently coming to their stalls and asking for free crackers....