By Express News Service

BENGALURU: The latest instalment of the Marvel cinematic universe, Avengers: Endgame, has been creating a huge buzz, with theatres running houseful shows. However, things turned ugly for a 33-year-old lady from HAL road, who had gone to watch the movie at Forum Shantiniketan mall in Whitefield on Saturday. The lady fell while climbing the stairs in the auditorium. She suffered a hip injury and cut her her lips. The fall also loosened her incisors.

The lady, on condition of anonymity, said she booked the 10 pm show at the mall. Khizer Ahmed Sharieff, her friend, alleged that the doors of the auditorium opened at 9.57 pm and people rushed inside.

“The movie had already started, which created a lot of chaos. People were falling on top of each other and running inside. Cinepolis management had not switched on a single light. Someone stepped on my friends slipper from behind as she was climbing the stairs, which caused her to trip and fall. She was bleeding profusely from her mouth. Even after the incident, the mall’s management did not bother switching the lights on,” she said.

Sharieff alleges that the mall did not even play the National Anthem before the movie. After Sharieff’s friend fell, nobody from the management came to help her. Instead, they asked Sharieff to take her friend to a nearby private hospital.

“After my friend was given first aid, the hospital stated that we should consult a plastic surgeon the next day. Later I called 100 after which the cops came and we asked for CCTV footage. However, the Cinepolis management did not show it. When I wanted to lodge an FIR, the police asked me to come to the station. By then my friend felt dizzy so I brought her back home,” said Sharieff.

Sharieff said people from the Cinepolis management came on Sunday and handed over some-15 movie tickets as compensation.

“We don’t need their compensation. What we want is for the guards there to manage crowds better. They should have kept the lights on. They said the step lights were on. How can anyone see step lights when 200 people are rushing in at the same time?” said Sharieff.

However, Yasir Sohail, assistant general manager, said, “It was a houseful show. The movie had already started so the lights were turned off. It would have been difficult to ask people to form a queue as there was a huge crowd. Advertisements were also played before the movie, and the step lights were on. We visited the woman’s house to find out how she was feeling. We are ready to compensate her by giving vouchers.”