Big Pictures goes all out to curb Kites piracy

(19 May 2010 7:25 pm)


MUMBAI: Days before a film releases, illegal DVDs of the film normally make their way to pirate vendors on the streets. This week, however, movie buffs could not get their hands on a DVD of the Hrithik Roshan starrer Kites in Mumbai and some parts of the country.

That's on account of Reliance Big Pictures' countrywide initiative to curb piracy of the film in states like Gujarat, New Delhi and the NCR region. The distributor has been conducting a major exercise to counter piracy in these areas.

Avers Reliance Big Pictures VP Sanjay Tandon: "We have appointed six agencies in Mumbai and one each in Gujarat, Delhi and the NCR region respectively and have seen to it that there is no piracy of our film in these places. Knowing clearly well that piracy cannot be erased but can be controlled; we are trying our best to control piracy of our film."

An anti-piracy initiative, known as the Anti-Piracy Coalition, between big Indian production houses like Reliance, UTV, Eros, Studio 18, Yash Raj Films and the US-based Motion Pictures Distributors Association (MPDA) was announced at FICCI Frames held in Mumbai earlier this year. "This is the first film to be monitored as part of the Anti Piracy Coalition," reveals Tandon.

A. A. Khan of A. A. Khan & Associates is one of the agents keeping a close watch on bootleggers in Mumbai. Says he: "This time, the surveillance against pirates is at its optimum best. We have increased our manpower who have gone all over the place as investigators. In this regard, I thank the SS branch of the Mumbai police who have been on their toes to help us in our initiative."

Just last week, the SS branch of the Mumbai police along with AA Khan & Associates seized close to 15,000 pirated copies of recently released Hindi and Hollywood films.