With plans to return to work after the movie was finished, the extended number of ads meant that the movie-goer’s day could not go ahead as planned. 

The complainant stated they could “not attend other arrangements and appointments which were scheduled for the day and have faced losses that cannot be calculated in terms of money as compensation.”

In February, the court ruled that the cinema chain must compensate Abhishek MR 50,000 INR (AUD 920) for wasting his time and 5000 INR (AUD 92) for mental agony and to cover his legal expenses. 

The court ruling also stated that “In the new era, time is considered as money, each one’s time is very precious.” 

“Twenty-five to 30 minutes is a considerable amount of time to sit idle in the theatre and watch unnecessary ads. People with tight schedules do not have time to waste.”

Cinema is a highly effective medium for advertising in India. 

It is also common for there to be a 15-minute ad break in the middle of a feature and at the start of the film, unlike in many Western cinemas, which only present ads at the beginning.