MAHARASHTRA, INDIA — As people across India celebrated Diwali, the country's biggest holiday of the year, some Salman Khan fans decided to take the Festival of Lights to the big screen.

Viral footage on social media shows a group of fans igniting firecrackers inside a movie theatre during the screening of the Bollywood star's latest film Tiger 3, with nearby moviegoers quickly vacating their seats and the screening coming to an abrupt end.

While those on the first floor rush to the exit in a "stampede-like atmosphere", as one social media user put it, onlookers on the second floor cheer and take videos with their mobile phones.

The police said on Monday (Nov 13) that the incident took place at the Mohan Cinema in Malegaon, Maharashtra on Sunday night, the opening day of Tiger 3 — which is the only Hindi film to have been released on Diwali in a decade, Indian news channel NDTV reported.

Theatre owner Rakesh Pande told reporters on Monday that "all the shows were full from the morning" and there was a large audience.

"In the last show, we checked the people with the help of security guards," he said. "We double-checked everyone, but we are unable to understand how this happened."

Upon hearing the noises of firecrackers "nearly two hours after the film screening started", Mr Rakesh said that he entered the cinema hall and asked the audience members not to continue setting off firecrackers as it could harm people. In turn, they assured him that they "would not do anything".

"After that, nothing happened until the film ended," he stated.

Mr Rakesh confirmed that a police report has been made and "no damage has taken place".

OUTRAGE ONLINE

On social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), online users were quick to condemn the fans' actions, commenting: "Fireworks inside a theatre? Did they learn nothing from the Iraq wedding fire incident?"

In September, more than 100 people were killed and 150 injured in a fire that swept through a crowded wedding hall in Hamdaniya, Nineveh in Iraq, which happened after fireworks were lit during the celebration.

Also citing the example of the wedding fire in Iraq, another X user said: "The worst part here (is that the) people standing at (the balcony) didn't evacuate and enjoyed (the) entire madness.

"And what about AQI (Air Quality Index)?"

India's problems with pollution are well-documented, with capital New Delhi often taking the top spot in the ranking of the world's most polluted cities by Swiss air purifier company IQAir.

Despite an oft-renewed Supreme Court ban on firecrackers, smoke was heavy in the air after revellers defied the ban to celebrate Diwali over the weekend.

Financial capital Mumbai and Kolkata both joined New Delhi on the list of most polluted cities on Monday, coming in at sixth and seventh place respectively.

One X user concluded: "The High Court and Supreme Court have said you should not burst crackers outside due to pollution. Hence they burst crackers inside... This must be their logic."

Many also wondered "how the heck they could take firecrackers inside the movie hall" when others "can hardly sneak in a bottle of water".

Khan himself took to Instagram and X to address the incident, writing: "I'm hearing about fireworks inside theatres during Tiger 3. This is dangerous.

"Let's enjoy the film without putting ourselves and others at risk. Stay safe."

However, fellow Khan fans appeared to applaud the scene, with one X user exclaiming: "This kind of celebration happens only for Salman Khan's films."

FIREWORKS IN CINEMAS

Indeed, it is not the first time that Bollywood fans have expressed their excitement in this way.

In 2021, Khan was similarly compelled to put out a statement on Instagram following several viral videos of fans igniting firecrackers in cinema screenings of his film Antim: The Final Truth.

"Enjoy the film by all means but please, please avoid (taking firecrackers inside the auditorium)," he wrote in the post.

"This is my request to all my fans... Thank you."

The release of epic period action drama film RRR last March, directed by SS Rajamouli and starring Ram Charan and Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao Jr — better known as Jr NTR — also saw an outburst of excitement from fans, with many waving flags and setting off firecrackers in cinemas as Jr NTR made his on-screen appearance.

Last May, a firecracker incident during a re-release of 2003 film Simhadri, also directed by Rajamouli and starring Jr NTR, even led to a fire breaking out at the Aspara Cinema House in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh.

Following Sunday's incident, X users also shared their own experiences, with one speaking of a past firecracker encounter with Khan fans when watching the film Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (PRDP) in 2015.

"It happened with me, too. I went to watch PRDP with family in Chandan (Cinema), Juhu," the user wrote in a tweet on Nov 12.

"Although it was a family movie and not an action extravaganza, fans burst crackers during Salman's introductory scene. I can understand (the) craze but it could turn lethal, (so) burst (them) outside please."

Firecrackers were also reportedly set off during screenings of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's film releases earlier this year, including one screening of his blockbuster Jawan early last month at Kamaldeep Theatre, also located in Malegaon.

Some fans even claimed on X that the latest incident was carried out in honour of Shah Rukh Khan's cameo in Tiger 3, rather than Salman Khan's starring role.

In his Instagram post from 2021, Salman Khan added that theatre owners should not allow firecrackers to be taken into cinema halls and that offenders should be stopped by security staff at the entrance.