March 3 (UPI) -- An Indian man was awarded more than $200 in compensation when he sued a movie theater chain for showing too many commercials before a film.
Abhishek M R, 31, of Bangalore, filed a suit with the Bangalore District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission after he attended a Dec. 26, 2023, screening of Sam Bahadur at the PVR multiplex in Bangalore.
Abhishek's complaint against theater chain owner PVR INOX said the film had been scheduled to end at 6:30 p.m., but didn't end until just before 7 p.m. He said this was due to the film being preceded by two public service announcements and 17 commercials.
The plaintiff said the movie's delayed ending caused him to miss a scheduled work call. His suit sought $547 in damages for what he called an "unfair trade practice," as well as $57 for "mental agony" and $115 for legal costs.
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission sided with Abhishek, awarding him $230 in damages and $92 for legal costs.
"In the new era, time is considered as money, each one's time is very precious," the ruling stated. "Twenty-five to 30 minutes is a considerable amount of time to sit idle in the theater and watch unnecessary ads. People with tight schedules do not have time to waste."
Abhishek said he hopes other businesses take note of the ruling.
"Every other business in India has started to think about time being of the essence and how to not waste their customers' time," he told CNN.
