A Bengaluru consumer court mandated PVR Cinemas and INOX to indicate the actual movie start time on tickets, ruling against excessive commercial advertisements that delayed screenings and caused consumer inconvenience.
Bengaluru: A consumer court in Bengaluru has ordered PVR Cinemas and INOX (now merged with PVR) to ensure that movie tickets mention the actual start time of movie shows, rather than the time when commercial advertisements are played before the film begins.
A coram of President M Shobha, along with members K Anita Shivakumar and Suma Anil Kumar, passed the order after a cinema-goer, Abhishek MR, sued PVR Cinemas, BookMyShow (Big Tree Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.), and INOX.
The complainant, Abhishek MR, claimed that he lost 25 minutes of his time during a screening at PVR Cinemas because of long commercial ads before the screening of the movie “Sam Bahadur” in 2023.
The delay disrupted his schedule, making it difficult for him to return to work on time after the movie.
The district consumer forum ruled that BookMyShow was not responsible, as it does not control movie show timings or the advertisements shown before movies. However, it found that PVR and INOX were guilty of unfair trade practices by making audiences sit through long ads instead of starting the movie at the designated time.
“In the new era, time is considered as money, each one’s time is very precious, no one has right to gain benefit out of others’ time and money. 25-30 (minutes) is not less to sit idle in the theatre and watch whatever the theatre telecasts. It is very hard for busy people with tight schedule watching unnecessary advertisements. However, they make their own arrangements to get some relaxation with family. (This does) not mean that people have no other work to do,”
the consumer forum stated.
The consumer court issued the following directions:
- The actual movie time must be mentioned on cinema tickets.
- PVR and INOX must stop engaging in unfair trade practices and refrain from playing advertisements beyond the scheduled show time mentioned on the ticket.
The court further ordered PVR Cinemas and INOX to pay Rs 20,000 to the complainant for mental agony and inconvenience, plus Rs 8,000 towards legal expenses.
Additionally, PVR and INOX were fined Rs 1 lakh as punitive damages for engaging in unfair trade practices. This amount must be paid to the consumer welfare fund within 30 days, according to the February 15 order.
The complainant had booked three tickets worth Rs 825.66 for a 4:05 PM PVR Cinema show of Sam Bahadur on December 26, 2023. He entered the movie theatre around 4:00 PM.
However, instead of starting the movie at 4:05 PM, PVR Cinemas played advertisements and trailers from 4:05 PM to 4:28 PM, with the actual feature film starting only at 4:30 PM.
This 30-minute delay disrupted the complainant’s schedule, as he had planned to return to work by 6:30 PM.
He filed a consumer complaint in January 2024, urging the court to stop PVR and INOX from playing excessive ads before movie screenings.
PVR Cinemas and INOX argued that theatres are legally bound to screen public service announcements (PSAs) as mandated by the Central and State governments.
The consumer forum agreed that PSAs must be shown, but pointed out that even government guidelines limit these ads to 10 minutes.
“In our view OPs 1 and 3 (PVR and INOX) can telecast only PSAs 10 mins prior of the movie as per the guidelines,”
the consumer forum stated.
The court noted that in this case, 95% of the ads played before the movie were commercial ads, not government-mandated PSAs.
The forum also rejected PVR Cinemas’ claim that the complainant violated anti-piracy laws by recording the ads shown before the movie. The commission ruled that the complainant had only recorded commercial ads and not the movie itself.
Additionally, the commission dismissed PVR and INOX’s argument that long ads benefit late-arriving moviegoers, stating that it is unfair for punctual audience members to be forced to watch prolonged commercial advertisements.
“The viewers who seated early in the theatre watch advertisements silently till the scheduled time. Taking beyond the scheduled time for the purpose of telecasting the advertisements, that too commercial advertisements, is unjust and unfair,”
the forum held.
Legal Representation
- Advocate Anudeep L Jain represented the complainant.
- Advocate Anisha Aatresh appeared for PVR and INOX.
- Advocate Mohumed Sadhiq BA appeared for BookMyShow.
This ruling marks a significant victory for consumers who often face similar issues at multiplexes across India. The decision ensures that audiences are not forced to watch excessive advertisements and that movie show timings are accurately mentioned on tickets.
Case Title – Abhishek vs PVR
Read the Judgement here:
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