Bengaluru consumer court fines PVR-INOX for delayed movie screening due to advertisements
Bengaluru: A consumer court in Bengaluru ruled against multiplex chain PVR-INOX for delaying movie screenings with excessive advertisements and directed it to specify actual movie start times on tickets. The court imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh on the company for engaging in unfair trade practices and awarded ₹28,000 in compensation to the complainant.
The case was filed by Abhishek MR, who attended a screening of Sam Bahadur on December 26, 2023, at a PVR cinema. Though the movie was scheduled to start at 4:05 PM, it began at 4:30 PM after 25 minutes of advertisements. The delay disrupted his schedule, leading him to file a complaint against PVR, INOX, and BookMyShow. The court, however, ruled that BookMyShow was not liable.
In its order, the court criticised the practice of prolonged advertisements, stating that "time is money" and that forcing moviegoers to watch unnecessary ads for 25–30 minutes amounts to an unfair trade practice. It also noted that while cinemas are required to screen public service announcements (PSAs) before films, government guidelines cap PSAs at 10 minutes. The court found that 95% of the advertisements shown before Sam Bahadur were commercial.
PVR-INOX argued that pre-film advertisements help accommodate late arrivals, but the court rejected this justification. It directed the multiplex chain to ensure that movie tickets indicate the actual start time of the film, excluding advertisement durations.
As compensation, the court ordered PVR-INOX to pay ₹20,000 to Abhishek for mental distress and ₹8,000 for legal expenses.
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RCB beat MI by 18 runs after batters fire
Mumbai (PTI): Royal Challengers Bengaluru skipper Rajat Patidar, Phil Salt and Virat Kohli blasted half-centuries as the defending champions beat Mumbai Indians by 18 runs in an Indian Premier League match here on Sunday.
Salt (78 off 36 balls) and Kohli (50 off 38 balls) stitched together a 120-run stand for the opening wicket before Patidar scored a rapid 53 off just 20 balls as RCB posted 240 for 4.
In response, Mumbai Indians were restricted to 222 for 5, with RCB spinner Suyash Sharma (2/47) putting the skids on the home side with a double strike in the eighth over, from which they could not recover.
Sherfane Rutherford top-scored for MI with an unbeaten 71 off 31 balls.
While opener Rohit Sharma appeared to be struggling with a hamstring issue and had to retire hurt on 19, his partner Ryan Rickelton made 37, while Suryakumar Yadav (33) and Hardik Pandya (40) were the other contributors for MI.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru 240 for 4 in 20 overs (Phil Salt 78, Virat Kohli 50, Rajat Patidar 53, Tim David 35 not out).
Mumbai Indians: 222 for 5 in 20 overs (Sherfane Rutherford 71 not out, Ryan Rickelton 37, Hardik Pandya 40; Suyash Sharma 2/47).
