GUWAHATI: A district consumer court has ruled that PVR Cinemas and INOX must mention the actual start time of movies on tickets, putting an end to the long-standing practice of screening extensive advertisements before films.
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The verdict came after a Bengaluru resident, Abhishek MR, filed a complaint against PVR Cinemas, BookMyShow, and INOX, claiming that nearly 25 minutes of his time was wasted due to excessive commercial ads before a screening of Sam Bahadur in December 2023.
The district consumer forum further ordered PVR Cinemas and Inox to pay ₹20,000 to the complainant for causing him mental agony and inconvenience, and an additional ₹8,000 towards the expenses he bore to file the complaint.
Additionally, PVR Cinemas and Inox also ordered to pay 1 lakh as punitive damages for engaging in unfair trade practices. This amount is to be paid to the consumer welfare fund within 30 days, according to the February 15 order.
The consumer forum, led by President M Shobha and members K Anita Shivakumar and Suma Anil Kumar, held that making moviegoers sit through prolonged ads beyond the scheduled showtime amounted to an unfair trade practice.
Court's directed PVR & INOX that
- Movie tickets must mention the actual time the film begins.
- s should not extend beyond the scheduled showtime.
- ₹20,000 compensation to the complainant for mental agony and inconvenience.
- ₹8,000 reimbursement for litigation expenses.
- ₹1 lakh to be deposited in the consumer welfare fund as punitive damages.
The court acknowledged the need for public service announcements (PSAs) but emphasized that their duration should not exceed ten minutes, as per government guidelines. It also dismissed PVR's defence that prolonged ads help latecomers and refuted claims that the complainant violated anti-piracy laws by recording the advertisements for evidence.