For the second time in less than a month, Mumbai’s Inox R City Ghatkopar is being blasted for cancelling a film, sanctioning a last-minute notification to attendees. This time it was a special 5:30 PM show of the 1992 Amitabh Bachchan-Sridevi classic Khuda Gawah, which was suddenly and violently cancelled on June 14 due to non-delivery of “content”.
The auditorium was nearly 90% full, and the audience members—many of whom had come from Andheri and Panvel—were understandably furious.
Audience: “This Is So Unprofessional!”
Audience member Sriram Jay, who had booked his tickets in advance, recalled the chaotic situation:
“The QR code on my ticket wouldn’t scan. Eventually, I was told the show had been usurped by Final Destination: Bloodlines. I was never informed this was the case. When I questioned the employees, the manager admitted the reason for there being no movie content.”
He went on to say,
“This was a show when we expected 140–145 people to show up. There was a scene at the ticket booth. There were many angry customers, and they were rightfully angry, as some people had travelled for over an hour in the hopes of seeing a show of loyalty. You can’t treat audience loyalty so casually.”
Some of them called BookMyShow, which informed them they had not been contacted by Inox to indicate there was going to be a cancellation in their film — only adding more to the frustration of being let down.
Refunds Provided, But Fans Still Say “Experience Lost”
While the theatre provided a refund or another film, for most it was simply not enough.
“I was offered another film, and I chose Materialists. It cost more, but they didn’t charge me. Which was fair,” said Sriram Jay. “But it’s not about the money. What about the experience I made my entire weekend around? You can’t refund that.”
Déjà Vu: Inox’s Second F—k Up In 30 Days
This particular incident is not a one-off. Just last month, the same cinema was under fire after the show of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (Hindi) was cancelled half an hour after showtime, again, for KDM (Key Delivery Message only).
In that case, a disgruntled customer’s video went viral, showing theatre staff offering popcorn refunds and advising customers that they could not cancel their food orders and to “take the popcorn home”.
Box Office Worldwide Verdict
As classic films and special events ramp back up in the post-pandemic cinema experience, theatres need to acknowledge the importance of trust and consistency. Incidents such as this, shocking as they are — in reality, this has happened at Inox R City Ghatkopar — ruin reputations and destroy the nostalgia and feeling that is the essence of a re-release.
In a time where moviegoers are increasingly drawing informed conclusions and travelling for experiences, casual service failures are more than service lines gone awry — they have entered the realm of cultural failures.
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