This is the first story from our investigative series on ‘The Shady Business of Stolen Footage’ where we uncover the vast underground economy built on stolen footage and broken privacy. Contribute to this series here.

It’s a clip from an infrared surveillance camera – filmed from an angle that shows a nearly empty movie hall in Thiruvananthapuram. The footage contains no evidence of theft, piracy, or any criminal activity.

On the left side of the hall, a couple sits near the front row. As the movie plays, they can be seen being intimate with each other.

What the couple, and countless moviegoers like them, don’t realise is that hundreds of such clips end up on platforms like Instagram and Telegram, where they are sold as soft porn. Buyers are willing to pay up to ₹20,000 for such footage.

In these videos, the faces of those captured are clearly visible. While the installation of surveillance cameras inside theatres is legally authorised, the leakage and sale of such footage is entirely non-consensual and illegal.

Over the last four months, TNM investigated India's shady business which uncovers how hundreds of leaked CCTV videos from movie halls have become currency in an expanding underground economy. Our trail took us to three theatres in Thiruvananthapuram.