UK Theatre Halts Telugu Film Screening After Audience Creates Mess

NDC DESK | July 25

London / New Delhi: A recent screening of the Telugu period action film Hari Hara Veera Mallu in the United Kingdom took an unexpected turn when cinema staff halted the show midway, citing disruptive behaviour by members of the audience.

Footage posted on social media by user @MeruBhaiya shows cinema employees confronting moviegoers after confetti was allegedly thrown during the screening, leaving a mess around the seating area. The video, which has since gone viral, captures staff pausing the film and addressing the audience directly in the auditorium.

“This kind of hooliganism is unacceptable and deserves strong condemnation,” wrote @MeruBhaiya on X (formerly Twitter), who claimed the group’s actions interrupted the show for others. The post has sparked intense online debate and has already amassed nearly three million views.

Netizens React: ‘Right Call by the Staff’

The incident has generated a wave of reactions online, with the majority supporting the cinema’s decision to stop the screening. Many social media users called out the group’s behaviour, saying it lacked basic decorum, especially in an international setting.

“Sad but Indians really need some decorum classes for living in the UK… just pathetic behaviour all over,” wrote one user, while another added, “Why weren’t they thrown out?!”

A third user commented, “At least they could have said sorry and should have offered to clean up. That would have been more graceful than trying to argue it out.”

Cultural Clashes? Not an Excuse, Say Others

While some users suggested that celebratory acts like tossing confetti may be common in Indian cinema culture—especially during the release of star-studded films—many disagreed with applying such practices abroad.

“I don’t care whether they’re from the South or the North, this kind of behaviour is completely unacceptable in the UK,” one commenter wrote. “What might be seen as festive back home is considered disrespectful and disruptive here.”