VILLAIN NO 1 | A 2010 report by PricewaterhouseCoopers says piracy cost the Indian film industry $959 million in 2008 alone
The ban on Pakistan artistes is not the real issue. It's not another film personality or a military man saying that, but the chief of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) himself. In an exclusive interview to dna, CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani said that though there had been a ban on Bollywood films in Pakistan, the more pertinent issue was that of piracy of these films there.
A ban had recently been placed by the Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association (IMPPA) on Pakistani actors and technicians from working in the Hindi-film industry, popularly known as Bollywood; post which, Pakistan too had put a ban on Bollywood films. The debate over the issue has left the Indian film industry divided.
Talking to dna, Nihalani, who had earlier said that Bollywood would suffer losses by banning already-signed Pakistani artistes, said India doesn’t export films to Pakistan directly.
“India exports films to Dubai, and Pakistan imports them from Dubai. Nearly 50 to 60 Bollywood hits are imported in a year by Pakistan from Dubai for its theatres. From there, Indian films are distributed in all other countries,” Nihalani said, adding that it is unfortunate that many Indian producers too, make a lot of money in the process.
The CBFC chief claimed that Lahore is the hub of all pirated movies. “It is from there that CDs and DVDs of Bollywood films are distributed to other countries in an unauthorised manner,” Nihalani said.
Nihalani admitted that to control the cross-border piracy of Hindi films is a daunting task. “On our part, we have put in place a few steps to minimise piracy of films, such as accepting in encrypted formats. But, the issue of cross-border piracy of films will have to be taken up at a higher level. However, it would be difficult, since there are a lot many hands involved in the distribution of the films,” he said.
A 2010 report on the Economic Contribution of Indian Film and Television Industry by PricewaterhouseCoopers had stated the film industry was in fact significantly impacted by online piracy. In 2008, piracy cost the Indian film industry $959 million and about 5,71,000 jobs.
A Motion Picture Distributors Association study had stated that India is among the top ten countries in the world which tops in online piracy, which is mainly carried out through file sharing networks to other countries such as the UAE and Pakistan.
Nihalani also said that giving Pakistani artistes work visas is the Centre’s call, but he personally feels that no Pakistani citizen should be given a visa to India till the relationship between the two countries normalises. “India should deal in the same way with China since they are supporting Pakistan,” he said.
“The entire focus has shifted to this ban issue. More than Pakistani actors going back to their country, the media should highlight the issue of terrorism and our soldiers are fighting at the border for all of us,” he said.
On his part, he will soon be making a new video on "One mission, ending terrorism." This will feature a patriotic song the lines of his earlier video on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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