Gang runs amok inside cinema hall

bangalore: he shares his first name with india's top movie star, but happens to be a lay citizen of bangalore. perhaps, that was amitabh undoing when he decided to protest cigarette smoke being blown on his face while watching a movie. for after that, he ended up with a deep cut over his left eye, necessitating stitches, and a black eye. amitabh chowdhry, with two friends and their families, decided to watch a movie on may 20 (sunday).what followed was filmy enough, but not funny. in fact, it took this manager in a leading company here, over a week to gather his thoughts to speak about what happened. all of which could be encompassed in one big question. how safe are people when they get into movie theatres? are theatre staff adept at handling rogue elements who enter halls only to ensure that everyone else's evening is spoilt? this is what happened at the cauvery theatre during the first show on may 20. as the group of nine, which included children, settled down in their seats, they were greeted with a smoke screen. in the front row was a group of three who decided that the show would all be theirs. they hooted, whistled, blew smoke rings and even used a laser torch to irritate those around them. ``after a while the children and ladies could not take it anymore so we protested. they immediately got back and started rough handling my friend subroto ghosh. by then the trio were really using abusive language, screaming and pushing us around,'' says amitabh. there was no theatre staff around yet. and suddenly in the dark, amitabh was almost knocked out by blows on his face. ``i could not see with what they hit me but it was something that cut through my skin. i could feel blood run down my face almost immediately and my face swell up around my left eye,'' he recalls. his face says it all. by then his wife decided enough was enough and held one of them by the collar. ``noticing that others in the theatre had also become restless they bolted for the exit. despite a chase the three escaped,'' amitabh says. the theatre staff later called in the hoysala who suggested that amitabh get treated in a government dispensary nearby and a case be filed. ``when we went there we realised that there was no disposable syringe, so i insisted that we go to chhaya nursing home nearby and get treated.'' after that, a complaint was lodged with the vyalikaval police station, who however say that no formal case had been registered. says cauvery theatre manager ganapathy, ``i was not around that day. my staff did tell me that there was some problem. this is a regular problem and we have asked our staff to be alert and confiscate any such material which can be a nuisance inside the hall.'' amitabh still shudders at the thought. ``these were obviously trouble-makers. and it could have led to anything else. they could have stabbed me with a knife or even done something with the women or children.'' the movie however continued in the midst of all the trouble. truly a case of `the show must go on'... being taken a little too far.