The moviegoing experience at one point was cheaper and far more pleasant. The tickets used to be sold at reasonable prices and shows used to start dot on time as mentioned on the printed ticket, or 5 or at the maximum, 10 minutes late. With the advent of multiplexes, especially PVR cinemas, a new trend began – the shows began commencing 15 minutes late. Many had reservations about this idea but accepted it. Some perennial latecomers even hailed this strategy as they could now finally see a film from the beginning.
But soon, PVR began to stretch this window further. Since a few years, it has been common to see films starting 20 and even 25 minutes late. It angered every section of the viewer, including the late lateefs. Hence, the recent ruling by the Bangalore (Urban) District Consumer Commission was welcomed with open arms. A patron complained that his Sam Bahadur show at PVR, Orion Mall, Bengaluru started 25 minutes late, leading to massive inconvenience in his work life. The consumer court passed the ruling in his favour; it directed PVR Inox to deposit Rs. 1 lakh into a consumer welfare fund and pay Rs. 20,000 to the complainant, Abhishek M R, for the inconvenience and mental agony caused, along with Rs. 8,000 for his legal expenses.
As expected, all the comments over this episode reeks of ‘serves PVR right’ kind of comments. Not a single patron started the #IStandWithPVR or #WeLovePVRAds trend. The reason is simple: No one loves to see ads, that too for nearly half an hour.
Trade and viewers speak up
Girish Johar, producer and film business analyst, said, “As a consumer myself, I believe that it’s a little stretched. 10-15 minutes is also not the best scenario either but it’s still tolerable. Anything beyond that is unfair. But knowing how the economy works in cinemas, I guess they (have their reasons).”
Trade veteran Taran Adarsh remarked, “I understand that the theatres need to make money and pay the bills. But showing so many ads frustrates the viewers and takes away the charm of watching a film. After all, you have come to watch a film, not the ads. Ads are an add-on.”
Trade analyst Atul Mohan explained, “Having 25-minute ads is like testing the patience of the audience. It’s boring to sit through the ads. Also, the audience has learned that if it’s a 7:00 pm show, then it won’t start before 7:15 pm or 7:20 pm. Earlier, in the single screen era, we used to rush to cinemas as we knew that a 3:00 pm should start max by 3:05 pm.”
However, moviegoers and even exhibition sources told us that the duration of the ads depends on the film, the time of the show and whether you’re watching it on the weekends or weekdays. This writer saw Joker: Folie à Deux and Deva at PVR Lower Parel, Mumbai on the first day of their release and the ad duration was different in both instances. For Joker: Folie à Deux, the ads listed 22 minutes while for Deva, the film started 15 minutes late.
That’s not all. This writer also watched the paid preview of The Wild Robot in the same cinema hall. The show time mentioned on the ticket was 5:35 pm and it started at 5:43 pm! As expected, many turned up late and were shocked to see the film had already begun. The latecomers struggled to find their seats in the dark auditorium and it also inconvenienced those who had come early.
Shantanu Joglekar, a regular at PVR Lower Parel, said, “I have faced this problem too. How am I supposed to know beforehand how long the ads would last? Sometimes, I feel like reaching the theatre late but then I also fear – what if I miss the beginning of the film should PVR suddenly not play that many ads?”
Shashank Pandey, a Delhi-based movie buff, agreed, “If it’s a 11:00 am show, the show at PVR will never start before 11:20 am. The theatre is 10 minutes away from my place. Hence, I’d leave my home at 11:00 am and reach the multiplex at 11:10 am. But in a rare instance, when you watch a film on the weekdays and there are only a handful of viewers, then they don’t show that many ads. Once, I missed a few minutes of the film as they started the film earlier.”
The moral of the lesson is: Reach the cinemas on time. If you are lucky, then the film will start earlier. Or else, bear with the advertisements.
Are viewers moving away to other multiplex chains due to the ads?
The complainant mentioned that since the show started late, it led to losses. Shashank could relate with it, “The show starts late and then you also have an interval lasting 15 minutes. And if you add the runtime, it becomes a tiresome affair, especially when you have to go to work after the film.”
Abhinav Kumar, a lawyer in Bengaluru said, “It is common to hear irate viewers going ‘tch tch’, ‘not again, ‘start the film’ when ads keep coming continuously. It gets quite irritating for a professional who wants to watch a film but also has to rush for work. Hence, as a lawyer and an ardent movie buff, I feel extremely satisfied with the decision (of the court). I hope it sets a strong precedent for future judgment in the favour of an aggrieved moviegoer.”
Some patrons confirmed to Bollywood Hungama that they are so fed up with the ads that they now prefer to watch the film in a non-PVR Inox multiplex. Bhavna Naik said, “I live close to PVR Juhu and PVR Lido but I prefer watching films at Gold Cinemas in Santa Cruz and even Sun City in Vile Parle. At least, they start the show on time. Though it takes a while to travel to the cinema hall and back, I still save time had I seen the same film in PVR.” Shantanu Joglekar said, “Other chains don’t charge a lot, the popcorn is cheaper and you also save time.”
Multiplex chains like MovieMax, Mukta A2, Miraj etc. have a policy of starting films on time or 5 minutes late. The interval, however, usually lasts for around 12-15 minutes. A duty manager said, “That’s a standard practice. A moviegoer has to use the washroom and also buy snacks. Hence, we can’t have shorter intervals and nobody minds.”
Shantanu also raised an important point, “There are films which might be running only in PVR Inox cinemas. I have sometimes skipped watching it as the sheer thought of spending more than three hours can be tiring, more so if I have other activities lined up for the day.”
Bhavna Naik also agreed, “It happens to me sometimes. If the film is not that enticing and if it's playing only in PVR, I’d prefer to be at home and watch something on OTT.”
Girish Johar, however, made it clear that the cinema business is not dwindling due to ads, “I don’t think that is the sore point but it definitely adds to the inconvenience. The ticket price and the content of the film also play a major role. If the film turns out well, no one minds and would not even remember that they were bombarded with unnecessary ads. But if the film turns out bad, then they tend to remember all the inconveniences of the experiences. But the ads alone don’t deter people from going to cinemas.”
Taran Adarsh agreed, “Ads don’t deter people. It’s the last thing on people’s minds. People do get exasperated when they reach the auditorium and are bombarded with ads. But that’s not a factor that crosses anyone’s mind while buying the ticket.”
Shashank Pandey also revealed that despite the ads, he prefers PVR over other chains, “In Rajhans, not many ads are shown. But I feel PVR cinema is superior in terms of sound system.”
Exhibitors speak up
The exhibitors also confirmed that the 25-minute practice is harmful for the cinema-going experience. Vishek Chauhan, owner of Roopbani Cinema in Purnia, Bihar, said, “The projector in my theatre is outsourced to Qube. They decide the advertising and it usually lasts for 7-8 minutes. But we never go beyond the show timing. If the show is at 3:30 pm, we try to start the film at that time. I also insist on reducing ads in my cinema as I don’t want to burden my viewers too much since it’s not fair on them.”
Film exhibitor and distributor Akshaye Rathi explained, “This case would have never happened had there been a sensible balance being stuck around how many advertisements to show. If I schedule a show for 6:00 pm and I play ads till 6:05 pm or 6:10 pm, people won’t mind. What started bothering people is that in the case of big-ticket films, some cinemas would play almost 30-35 minutes of ads. That can get quite bothersome, especially for late-night shows. By the time people return home, it’s a ridiculously unearthly hour.”
He continued, “This is not something that should be imposed by the government or the courts, especially since it’s a private sector. Instead, we should plan sensibly as a fraternity.”
The curious case of PSAs
What irked moviegoers was PVR claiming in the Bengaluru case that PVR claimed that it delays starting a film as it plays PSAs, that is public service announcement ads. Ask any person frequenting PVR cinemas and they’ll confirm that such ads are barely shown. Shantanu Joglekar joked, “Are Manyavar Mohey, Malabar Diamonds, Goldmedal and Lyra ads PSAs?”. Abhinav Kumar and Shashank Pandey confirmed, “PSAs are rarely played.”
A duty manager said, “Some people might confuse the government ads as PSAs, that is, the one about the achievements of the state or central government. But that doesn’t come under PSA. At one point, it was common to see such ads. A filmmaker named Devendra Khandelwal was known to make ads that educated viewers about social and other issues. But now, such ads are rarely played in cinemas.”
An industry insider thundered, “PVR shows ads continuously and on top of it, it is lying through its teeth that it shows PSAs. I am glad that the court caught their bluff.” The court observed that out of 17 advertisements shown in the Sam Bahadur show, only two qualified as PSAs.
How the cinema ad economy works
A commercial in PVR nowadays shows brand managers and experts talking about how ads in cinemas are valuable. Experts also confirm this aspect. Those watching films in Mumbai for years will still be familiar with the Gangar Optician commercial. Some might even be recalling the lines mouthed in the ad: “Aap maze se duniya dekhe, aur duniya dekhe aapko”. When an ad, last heard nearly two decades ago, is still etched in people’s minds, it says a lot about this medium.
Akshaye Rathi added to this aspect, “Brands like Manyavar, Vicco Vajradanti etc. have been built out of cinema advertising successfully. Since they have been doing it consistently for years, they obviously get a discounted rate per unit or minute. They also strike annual deals. If some brand asks for ad showcasing in the first week of Pushpa 2 for instance, the cost would be much higher compared to when the deal is around the year. The latter turns out to be a much better strategy for a simple reason. Imagine a brand decides to show ads during a biggie like Laal Singh Chaddha or Dunki. Obviously, they wouldn’t have gotten the value they would have expected out of these films (as they underperformed). On the other hand, those brands that put money on unexpected surprise hits like 12th Fail or Laapataa Ladies would have benefited majorly. Hence, to get the best value out of cinema advertising, we cannot predict which film will get the desired audience. It’s recommended to get a discounted rate and advertise throughout the year.”
He continued, “It’s a medium which is very underrated. Unlike TV, where you can get up and go away or unlike OTT where you can skip, forward or mute, this is a captive medium. When you are in the cinema hall, rarely would a patron say ‘I’d go out for this particular ad and when it’s over, I’ll return to my seat’. It gives you an engaged audience as mostly, the viewer is looking at the screen during the ads, especially if the lights are off. In terms of recall value, all of us remember the Vicco Vajradanti jingle because we heard it in a captivating manner in a cinema hall.”
The way forward
Cinema ads are here to stay and most moviegoers confirm that they don’t mind it. Shantanu Joglekar explained, “Just don’t make it an unending affair.” Atul Mohan suggested, “If a show is at 7:00 pm, the multiplexes should start the ad 10-15 minutes before.”
In defence of PVR, Vishek Chauhan exulted, “To be fined Rs. 1 lakh is an extreme scenario.” However, he also added, “It gives us a lesson that we all should value the time of the people.”
The industry insider sighed, “Sadly, the way PVR lied about showing PSAs and also their plan to challenge the order shows that they are not ready to learn lessons and will continue to harass people with ads with the same intensity.”
Atul Mohan remarked that this case can set a precedent, “The public has now become aware that by complaining to consumer court, they can also get a chance to earn some moolah! It won’t be surprising if more people also file complaints.”
Also Read: Trade experts SLAM the Buy-One-Ticket-Get-One-Free offer: “Its charm has faded; picture dhang ki banao, aur yeh drama kam karo. Ek-pe-ek offer se Myntra chalta hai, cinema nahin!”
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