"It was really chaotic and scary."
Masked Khalistan supporters stormed a West London cinema on the night of January 19, 2025, halting a screening of Kangana Ranaut’s Emergency.
Protesters left customers at Harrow Vue Cinema terrified as the men, reportedly armed with knives, chanted slogans like “down with India”.
Footage showed the film screening being interrupted.
Saloni Belaid had purchased tickets for Emergency and she said the men pushed past staff members and shouted “down with India” after the film was dubbed “anti-Sikh”.
She said: “It was really chaotic and scary.
“Ninety-five per cent of the audience cleared out while they were intimidating everyone.
“This was masked men shouting in the dark – we didn’t what their intentions were. It was frightening.”
Saloni claimed staff members did not help and even though police arrived within 10 minutes, no arrests were made as the group were exercising their right to protest.
The venue’s manager eventually decided to cancel the screening, despite some rights from some audience members to continue.
Saloni added: “The staff seemed scared and the situation was tense.”
Masked protesters storm #Harrow VUE cinema last night… pic.twitter.com/XTX3GYNgl7
— Harrow Online (@harrowonline) January 20, 2025
Rashmi Chaubey, who also shared footage, said:
“It’s a completely frightening and intimidating experience when 20+ men with masked faces and carrying a kirpan entered and blocked the exit in a dark theatre.
“They were finally able to shut the movie. Police could not do anything and said it is their right to protest.
“It marks a sad day where the right to protest was weaponised to suppress freedom of expression.”
The men were believed to be part of the Khalistan separatist movement which aims to create a homeland in India for Sikhs.
Emergency, which stars Kangana Ranaut as former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, has been embroiled in the lead-up and since its release, both in India and in the UK.
In India, the film was not screened in most places in Punjab due to protests by Sikh organisations.
In the UK, screenings at Cineworld branches in Wolverhampton and Birmingham have been cancelled as protesters view it as anti-Sikh propaganda for its depiction of Indira Gandhi’s role in the 1984 Amritsar Massacre.
Supporting the protests, the Sikh Press Association said:
“It probably displays inaccurate information which maligns revered Sikh figures.
“Such content perpetuates anti-Sikh hate and Indian state stereotypes demonising the community, which makes up approximately just two per cent of India.
“The theatres showing this nationalist propaganda are supporting something which poses a danger to Sikh communities today, justifying anti-Sikh hate, which is currently a major concern amid an uptake in India’s transnational violence.”
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