A consumer court in Bengaluru has criticized PVR-Inox for wasting viewers’ time by playing lengthy advertisements before movies. A dissatisfied customer filed a complaint, accusing the theatre chain of running ads and trailers for 30 minutes past the scheduled start time.
Complaint Over Delayed Screening
According to a report by Bar and Bench, Abhishek MR, the complainant, went to watch Sam Bahadur starring Vicky Kaushal on December 26, 2023. The movie was supposed to begin at 4:05 PM, but the theatre continued playing ads and trailers until 4:28 PM. The film finally started at 4:30 PM, causing a significant delay. Abhishek stated that this disruption affected his schedule for the rest of the day.
Court Criticizes PVR-Inox’s Practices
A panel, including President M Shobha and members K Anita Shivakumar and Suma Anil Kumar, ruled against PVR-Inox. The consumer court emphasized the value of time, stating:
“In the new era, time is considered 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 schedules 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.”
Court Issues Strict Orders
The consumer court directed PVR-Inox to ensure that actual movie start times appear on cinema tickets. It also ordered the theatre chain to stop unfair trade practices and avoid running ads beyond the scheduled screening time mentioned on tickets.
Additionally, the court fined PVR-Inox for inconveniencing customers:
- ₹20,000 to the complainant for mental distress and inconvenience.
- ₹8,000 to cover the legal expenses of filing the complaint.
- ₹1 lakh as punitive damages for unfair trade practices, payable to the consumer welfare fund within 30 days.
About PVR-Inox
PVR-Inox is India’s largest multiplex chain, operating over 1,700 screens across 355 locations in India and Sri Lanka. PVR began in 1997 after a merger between Priya Cinemas and Village Roadshow Pictures. The current entity, PVR-Inox, formed in 2023 following the merger of PVR Cinemas and Inox Leisure.