A Hyderabad consumer commission ordered a movie theatre to pay Rs 75,000 after commercials delayed a screening of the film Kuberaa by 22 minutes. The commission ruled that playing excessive promotional content for profit constituted an unfair business practice.
A consumer commission in Hyderabad told a movie theatre to pay Rs 75,000 because commercials and other promotional content made films start 22 minutes later than they were supposed to. The case starts on June 20, 2025, when a man bought tickets to see Kuberaa, which stars Dhanush and Nagarjuna. Based on what the 33-year-old guy told The Indian Express, he had bought two tickets for the 10:35 pm show and was sitting down with a friend by 10:30 pm. However, the report says that commercials and ads kept playing until about 10:52 pm.
The man told the commission that the delay messed up his plans and made him get home about an hour later than planned, at 3 a.m. He claimed that the delay was a failure in service.
It took more than a year, but on September 11, 2026, the Hyderabad District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission finally made its decision. It agreed with the accuser and said that the theater’s actions were unfair business practices.
The Indian Express reported that the commission talked about government rules about showing public service announcement films, which say that these films can only be up to two minutes long. But the commission’s decision wasn’t just that movie theatres can’t show ads before a movie.
It held the theatre specifically responsible for the delay caused by commercials and promotional content that were being shown to make money for the theatre.
During the meeting, the theatre company said that videos, ads, and public service announcements were all part of its business and that public service material served a larger public interest purpose. But because of the facts of the case, the commission did not accept the defence.
How the Rs 75,000 will be split?
The Rs 75,000 ordered by the commission is not entirely compensation to the moviegoer. The theatre was directed to pay:
- Rs 20,000 to the complainant as compensation for the inconvenience
- Rs 5,000 towards litigation costs
- Rs 50,000 to the District Consumer Welfare Fund as punitive damages
The Rs 50,000 punitive amount was intended to discourage the theatre from repeating the practice.