Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra who avidly promoted the Anti-Piracy campaign alongside the release of their latest Anjaana Anjaani would be pleased to know that The Alliance Against Copyright Theft (AACT), a coalition between Hollywood-Bollywood studios to fight the various forms of piracy in India, seized more than 1,06,000 pirated DVDs/CDs in North India and Mumbai over the last month which also included their latest release.
On October 6, AACT seized 15,000 pirated discs of Anjaana Anjaani, Robot, Dabaang, Peepli Live, Resident Evil 3D, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. And in another large raid on October 11, the team seized 24,516 pirated DVDs. More than 2,000 DVDs of recently released movies like Do Dooni Char, Luva Kusa, Khichdi, Anjaana Anjaani, Robot, Dabaang were confiscated during the raid.
Film lovers in the capital are not least bit surprised and opine that despite a ban on piracy, many flout the law openly.
An Online Evangelist with Blue Online Prateek Shah avers, “Despite the Anti-Piracy law, people regularly watch the latest flicks a day or two after their release on DVDs and VCDs. What used to be restricted to one movie per VCD has become five-six per DVD thereby leading to further damage. With authorities also being involved in the racket it seems like only stricter measures from movie makers can put an end to this.”
Agrees Sangeeta Bahadur, (name changed on request) a Delhi University student, “I watch some of the latest flicks on pirated DVDs with friends. Most of us don’t go into the pros and cons of watching a film, for us it’s a cheap source of entertainment.”
Most shops don’t openly sell pirated CDs and few vouch it’s a risky proposition. A shopkeeper in Amar Colony speaks on condition of anonymity, “There’s a huge demand for pirated CDs. When a big film releases, the very same day, I have youngsters and even adults enquiring if we have the CDs. Nobody is willing to wait for legitimate CDs to be released. It is a matter of pride for some to boast to their friends they have seen the film the same day.”