A Hyderabad moviegoer who had to sit through nearly 22 minutes of commercial advertisements and trailers before a film began has been awarded Rs 75,000 by a consumer commission, The Indian Express reported. The commission found the theatre guilty of deficiency in service and an unfair trade practice.
According to The Indian Express report, the Hyderabad District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission directed the theatre company to pay Rs 20,000 as compensation and Rs 5,000 towards litigation costs to the complainant. It also ordered the company to deposit Rs 50,000 with the District Consumer Welfare Fund as punitive damages.
The Indian Express reported that the commission found the theatre had deliberately continued screening commercial advertisements before the movie despite rules restricting the duration of public service awareness films.
The order was passed on September 11 by commission president Vakkanti Narasimha Rao and member Suma Vala.
Movie scheduled for 10:35 pm
According to the case details reported by The Indian Express, the 33-year-old complainant had booked two tickets for ‘Kubera’, starring Dhanush and Nagarjuna and directed by Sekhar Kammula. The show was scheduled to begin at 10:35 pm on June 20, 2025.
The man said he and his friend entered the theatre and occupied their seats by around 10:30 pm. Advertisements and movie trailers began playing shortly afterwards.
Initially, they expected the feature film to begin within a few minutes. However, the advertisements and trailers continued until 10:52 pm, according to the complaint.
The theatre then screened public service awareness films before finally starting the main feature. The complainant argued that the commercial advertisements and promotional trailers had unnecessarily delayed the film and amounted to deficiency in service.
Moviegoer says he reached home an hour late
The delay also had an impact after the movie ended, the complainant claimed. He said he reached home at around 3 am, nearly an hour later than he had expected, causing inconvenience and affecting his personal commitments and rest.
He approached the consumer commission seeking compensation and was represented by advocate Shaik Ranjith Pasha.
Theatre defends advertisements
The theatre company disputed the complaint. Represented by advocate M Naga Deepak, it argued that screening advertisements, commercials, trailers and public service awareness films was part of its right to conduct business.
The company also defended the screening of public service announcements, saying they were intended to create awareness about issues including education, literacy, agriculture, rural development, welfare of women and weaker sections, and Swachh Bharat.
It argued that such announcements were screened before the movie because that was when audiences were seated inside the theatre.
Commission distinguishes commercial ads from public service films
The commission examined the rules governing the screening of advertisements and public service awareness films. It found that the theatre was responsible for the delay caused by the commercial advertisements and promotional content.
The commission also referred to the applicable government guidelines under which the duration of public service awareness films had been restricted to up to two minutes.
“The duration of screening of the approved films / PSA (public service awareness) films has now been restricted to ‘up to 2 minutes’,” The Indian Express quoted the commission as saying.
It held that the theatre company had violated the mandate by screening commercial advertisements for commercial benefit before the feature film.
Theatre ordered to pay Rs 75,000
The commission directed the theatre company to pay Rs 20,000 as compensation for the inconvenience caused by the unfair and restrictive trade practice, Rs 5,000 towards litigation costs and Rs 50,000 to the District Consumer Welfare Fund as punitive damages.
The total financial liability under the order therefore comes to Rs 75,000.
The commission said the punitive amount was intended to ensure that the theatre discontinued the practice and did not repeat it in future.
Takeaway
The ruling addresses that theatres may face consumer action when the screening of commercial advertisements results in a significant delay to the advertised movie show and violates applicable rules.
It also draws a distinction between public service awareness films and commercial advertisements. While the commission considered the prescribed limit applicable to public service films, it specifically found the theatre responsible for the delay caused by the commercial content.