In a landmark decision, the Bengaluru District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on the cinema chain PVR INOX for delaying the screening of a movie due to an excessive duration of advertisements. The ruling, which came out on Friday, also mandates that PVR INOX must disclose the actual movie start time on tickets, rather than the time when advertisements commence.
The complaint was lodged by Abhishek MR, a resident of Bengaluru, following a viewing of the movie Sam Bahadur on December 26, 2023. Abhishek, who had booked three tickets for a show scheduled at 4:05 PM at a local PVR INOX theater, reported that the movie only started at 4:30 PM, after 25 minutes filled with various advertisements.
Expressing dissatisfaction with the unnecessary delay, Abhishek took legal action against PVR INOX and the online ticketing platform BookMyShow. The court, however, found that BookMyShow was not responsible for the timing of the advertisements.
The bench, led by President M. Sobha and members K. Anita Shivakumar and Suma Anil Kumar, stated in their verdict that it is imperative for cinema operators like PVR INOX to respect the time commitments made to their patrons. The commission emphasized that the start time listed on tickets should reflect when the film actually begins, not the onset of preliminary ads.
As part of the judgment, Abhishek was awarded Rs 20,000 in compensation for the inconvenience and mental distress caused by the incident, and an additional Rs 8,000 to cover the costs of litigation. The court’s decision also included a directive for PVR INOX to pay Rs 1 lakh in punitive damages, to underscore the importance of transparency in movie screening times.
In its defense, PVR INOX cited regulatory obligations to screen public service announcements before movies, which are mandated to last no longer than 10 minutes. The court dismissed this justification, noting that the regulations were not meant to cover commercial advertisements.
During the proceedings, PVR INOX challenged the legality of Abhishek recording the advertisements, claiming it breached anti-piracy laws. The court refuted this, clarifying that recording advertisements to provide evidence in a consumer grievance does not violate copyright laws, as no part of the actual movie was recorded.
