On Wednesday, October 23, 2019, a family was thrown out of Bengaluru theatre Malleshwaram Orion Mall PVR. The reason for this was their disrespect for the Indian National Anthem. A video of the family being thrown out of the movie halls went viral on the internet.

Kannada actress BV Aishwarya led the initiative along with another popular actor Arun Gawda. While Arun recorded a video of them, Aishwarya was seen giving them a piece of her mind. “..so called citizens of India refused to stand while the national anthem was played n we are here as the True citizens to set these Anti-Indians right. Don’t You Dare.”

In the video, Arun can be heard stating that the people asked Arun, Aishwarya and others to file a police complaint against them. Another person questioned their audacity sitting in the theatres for three hours when they cannot spare 52 seconds for National Anthem. The argument went on and one person questioned whether they are a Pakistan terrorist, while the person being questioned shared by amazed that the opposite of Indian is Pakistani. Towards the end, Aishwarya was heard asking them to get out if they cannot stand for the National Anthem.

While talking to the Indian Express, Gawda was quoted as saying, “It feels awkward to see some fellow citizens using their mobile phones and sitting with their legs up towards the screen where the national flag is shown when the anthem is played.” He also made it clear that disrespecting the army is not acceptable.

No complaint was filed, confirmed DCP (North) N Shashikumar. He said, “We will check the video first to know the incident and then will call up someone who was present in the scene to ascertain what exactly happened in the cinema hall. We will take legal action against the miscreants, if any of their actions indicate disrespect, as per the Prevention of Insult to National Honours Act.”

80-100 people joined Aishwarya and Arun to throw the family out for disrespecting the National Anthem. The audience members were watching Asuran featuring Dhanush in the lead role.