Film piracy is a crime

Film piracy has remained an important and continual problem in India, causing a huge drain on the creative industries as well as the national economy. This illegal practice involves the unauthorised copying, distribution and consumption of copyrighted film content. This is done primarily through illegal downloads and online streaming, apart from physical black-market copies. The problem is becoming particularly widespread because of the high cost of legitimate film tickets and streaming subscriptions relative to average incomes. The ease of access provided by widespread internet availability and high-speed mobile data has only made things smoother for these unlawful operators. Media reports quoting industry sources say that the film industry is a huge economy in itself, positive for the criminals involved in it and negative for the genuine producers as well as the government. One estimate puts total annual financial losses to the entertainment industry at a whopping Rs 22,400 crore. Of this amount, roughly Rs 13,700 crore is attributed to film-related piracy and Rs 8,700 crore to OTT platform piracy. The loss to the government in terms of GST, on the other hand, is said to be around Rs 430 crore. Reports also say that young people in the 19-34 age group are the major consumers of pirated content and that piracy is more prevalent in Tier II cities than in the Tier I cities. The latest target of piracy is ‘Roi Roi Binale’, an Assamese film directed by Rajesh Bhuyan with Assam’s music heartthrob Zubeen Garg playing the protagonist, apart from scoring the music and singing several songs. Reports quoting the director said the team initially dismissed short clips circulating online, assuming they were shared by fans as a tribute to the late singer and actor. However, the situation soon spiralled out of control, with full-length versions of the film appearing on various platforms. It is now for the cybercrime wing of the Assam Police to act.