PVR Cinemas ordered to pay compensation for movie screening delay

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission-II in Hyderabad has ordered PVR Cinemas and PVR Inox Ltd. to pay compensation and penalties following a 22-minute delay in a film screening caused by excessive advertisements and trailers.

The complaint was filed by advocate Chanda Athish Kumar after a screening of the Telugu film ‘Kubera’ on June 20, 2025, failed to start at its scheduled time of 10:35 PM. Instead, commercial advertisements and trailers continued until 10:52 PM. The complainant argued that the delay violated a November 30, 2023, Office Memorandum from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, which restricts public service awareness films to two minutes within prescribed periods.

While PVR defended its actions as a business right under Article 19(1)(g), the Commission rejected this argument, ruling that the prolonged commercial content constituted a deficiency in service and an unfair trade practice. The Commission directed the companies to pay ₹20,000 in compensation, ₹5,000 in litigation costs, and imposed ₹50,000 in punitive damages to be paid to the District Consumer Welfare Fund. The companies were also ordered to discontinue the practice.