PVR Cinemas has found itself in hot water after the Bengaluru Urban District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission fined the multiplex chain Rs 1 lakh for playing too many ads prior to a planned movie show. The commission found the practice "unjust" and classified it as an "unfair trade practice."

The fine is the result of a complaint lodged by advocate Abhishek MR, who complained that his cinema experience was ruined by excessive ads. The commission, headed by President M Shobha and members K Anita Shivakumar and Suma Anil Kumar, passed the order on Saturday, February 15, according to The New Indian Express. PVR has been ordered to deposit the fine in the Consumer Welfare Fund.

The complainant states that he had taken three tickets to watch Sam Bahadur in Orion Mall on 26th December 2023 at a 4:05 pm screening. Each of these tickets is priced at Rs 825.66. The screening was to get over by 6:30 pm, giving him time to be back for work. Nevertheless, even though he arrived at the theater at 4 pm, he had to watch advertisements and trailers between 4:05 pm and 4:28 pm. This unwarranted hold-up apparently led him to miss work.

Seeing the inconvenience that had been caused, the commission directed PVR Cinemas to pay Abhishek MR Rs 20,000 as compensation for mental distress and inconvenience, and Rs 8,000 for the cost of litigation. It also observed that several other viewers may have encountered the same problems.

The commission pointed out the fact that a movie should be enjoyed as a relaxing watch, not a chore of sitting through long adverts. "It's unfair to waste people's time and money with long ads," the commission noted, asking PVR to abide by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting's rules on advertisement length prior to movie shows.

PVR Cinemas and PVR Inox Ltd. claimed they were legally required to show public service announcements (PSAs). However, the commission found that out of 17 ads played before Sam Bahadur, only one was a PSA. Since guidelines allow a maximum of 10 minutes for such content, PVR had clearly exceeded the limit.

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