Rampant piracy adds to Tollywood’s woes

Box-office hasn’t been too kind to Tollywood releases this year. Few break-evens and fewer hits have left the Bengali film industry in a not-so-happy state. What’s worse is that DVDs of most recent Bengali films have been doing great business in the city’s pirated markets. While producers and distributors are counting their losses, the pirates of the city are laughing their way to the bank.

REALITY CHECK
A walk down Kolkata’s infamous piracy hubs reveals that DVDs of almost all new releases are available for prices
lower than what one has to shell out to buy a ticket at any theatre with decent amenities. From Srijit Mukherji’s Ek Je Chhilo Raja (EJCR) and Ranjan Ghosh’s Ahaa Re, from Anik Dutta’s Bhobishyoter Bhoot (BB) to Pavel’s Rosogolla — pirated DVDs of all these films are readily available on the boulevards of Gariahat,

Park Circus

and Tollygunge.

JUST A WEEK
How long does it take for a Bengali film DVD to reach the piracy hub? Not much, claim vendors. “Pirated DVDs of Hindi films sell the most. But, the demand for Bengali films is also good,” said a vendor at Gariahat market, while insisting that most copies of Hindi films reach the market within the first week of release. “In case of some Bengali films, copies reach the market within four days of release. The copy of a Friday release is out by Monday,” he added.

ONLY FOR 50 bucks!
The asking rate for pirated Bengali DVDs is as low as `50. If you are good at haggling, there is every chance of striking a cheaper deal. Controversial films are even more lucrative. A vendor at Park Circus flaunted a DVD of Bhobishyoter Bhoot saying: “Chahne se sab milta hai (Everything is available if you ask). The DVDs of this film are available in the market since last Friday. On an average, we are selling 10 to 12 such DVDs daily since Friday. Currently, the selling price is `50 but it can go up anytime.” Interestingly, all Bengali film DVDs are available at Rs 50. But the prices of some older ones including EKCR can go down to `20 if the buyer’s bargaining skills are decent. Cops, of course, are aware of the problems of piracy. In the past, they have conducted several raids to stop this menace. “If we get complaints now, we will surely conduct a raid to nab the offenders,” said a senior officer from Kolkata Police.

FREE, FREE, FREE
It is not the physical copies of DVDs that are ruining the prospects of a film’s legal earnings. Hall prints of many recent Bengali films are already available online. While Blu-Ray and DVD formats of films like Ahaa Re and EKCR are available online, hall prints of BB can easily be downloaded. Meanwhile, a disappointed Anik Dutta said, “That means anyone with a smart phone can download and watch the film for free. I don’t know how to react to this. It is sad.”