The Hindu : Front Page : Online video piracy a threat to film industry

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 06, 2006

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Online video piracy a threat to film industry

G. Anand

Thiruvananthapuram: The Rs.100-crore Malayalam film industry is facing a serious threat from online video piracy.

At least two recent Malayalam movies were illegally distributed through an Internet pay site, according to Milan Jaleel, president of the Malayalam Film Producers Association.

The full-length films available on the Internet site were "Thurupu Gulan" and "Madhuchandralekha" starring Mammootty and Jayaram respectively. The visual and audio quality of the pirated content was poor compared to the original prints.

However, with the data compression technology improving and Internet connections becoming cheaper and faster, industry representatives fear that the online piracy could seriously undercut the legal sale of Malayalam films in domestic and foreign markets.

The Association office-bearers on Wednesday met Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan and Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan seeking the formation of a special police cell to combat video piracy in all its forms.

K. Nandakumar, president of the Film Chamber of Commerce, said it was possible that the original prints of Malayalam movies distributed in the Gulf were reaching film pirates. Pirated DVDs and CDs of recent movies such as "Chinthamani Kola Case" and "Chandupottu" appeared in the black market in Kerala within days of the release of the films in the Gulf. Theatrical prints of movies reach the Gulf a week after the release.

Sources in the Customs Department said Gulf-based pirates use "Telecine machines" for converting a motion picture film into the electronic form. It is easy for a pirate in the Gulf to get his hands on a theatrical print for a few hours from a movie theatre or a courier service.

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