Every minute is valuable. A person from Bangalore, India, fined the Indian cinema chains PVR-Inox (which have merged) for wasting his time.
Abhishek MR, who went to watch the movie ‘Sam Bahadur’, filed a case in the consumer court against the multiplex, claiming that his 25 minutes were wasted due to long advertisements before the movie started. He took the matter to court, stating that the time he spent watching these ads was wasted.
The court imposed a fine of 1.2 lakh rupees on the cinema. Abhishek had watched the film starring Vicky Kaushal on December 26, 2026. A joint bench of judges M. Shobha, Anita Shivkumar, and Suma Anil issued the order, stating that the audience’s time must be respected.
The court emphasized, “In the new era, time is considered money. Everyone’s time is precious. No one has the right to take advantage of another person’s time and money. When people sit for 25-30 minutes watching unnecessary advertisements, their time is wasted. It is also difficult for people to watch ads. Instead, they could spend time with their family. This does not mean that the person has nothing else to do.”
Nepalese cinema halls have also faced similar accusations, particularly with complaints from audiences who are forced to watch ads even during premieres. In Nepal, it has become common for advertisements to take up 15 minutes before the movie starts and 15 minutes during the intermission, totaling 30 minutes spent on ads.
