The arrest of a technician at Annapurna Studios in Hyderabad, for stealing and pirating footage from Baahubali 2 has thrown open the looming threat of piracy once again.
The chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), Pahlaj Nihalani has weighed in on the matter, saying, “I’ve repeatedly been saying that the threat to our industry is not from Hollywood or recession. People are blaming demonetisation for the low turn out in the theatres, when in fact the culprit has always been piracy.”
Pahlaj recommends stronger checks and curbs at post-production outlets to circumvent the problem. “There are dozens of computers in every post-production outlet, each manned by an individual. How much effort would it take for one of them to download footage from a film on his phone or his pen drive?” he asks.
Pahlaj also believes that the problem of piracy does not occur at the CBFC office. “Sometime ago, the CBFC office was seen as the place where piracy occurred. Producers need to pinpoint the real culprits to curb piracy.”
