Three film leaks before their release in three weeks have compelled Bollywood to grapple with online piracy. First, Udta Punjab was available online just a few days ahead of its release. Then, Sultan, which opened in cinemas on Wednesday, was leaked online on Tuesday night. And now, Great Grand Masti (GGM) has been leaked online more than two weeks before its scheduled release date. While in the earlier two instances, there was little that the makers could do, in case of GGM, the hapless producers decided to advance its release by a week. But is there a permanent solution to this problem? When BT contacted GGM's director, Indra Kumar, he sounded distraught and said, “Aap ke ghar mein chori hogi toh kaisa lagega? It is really a terrible thing to happen to any filmmaker. I don't have anything more to say.“

CENSOR BOARD DEFENDS ITSELF
Interestingly, both Udta Punjab and GGM's leaked copies had the 'Censor Board' watermark. Invariably, the blame was directed towards the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and its chairperson Pahlaj Nihalani, who rubbished these allegations. “Just because Censor is mentioned in the leaked copy, it doesn't mean that some one from our team is responsible for it. The Censor copy, which is made by the producers, exchanges many hands before it reaches the Examining Committee. It comes in a sealed envelope and is opened in front of the producer. Now, we've started watching movies in the digital cinema package format that has a KDM (a digitised password) which is only with the producer,“ says Nihalani.

A source from the Information & Broadcasting Ministry says, “It's a serious issue which needs to be tackled immediately. In the case of GGM, a probe has been initiated and the Delhi Police along with cops from other states are getting to the root of the issue. Also, it's wrong to blame the CBFC just because the leaked prints carry a watermark. In Udta Punjab's case, major arrests took place in Delhi.“ Continuing in the same vein, Pahlaj defended the CBFC saying, “GGM was shown to us in January and we refused to issue it a certificate. Then, it didn't come to us for revising as the makers went straight to the Appellate Tribunal, which passed the order and we certified the film in April. During that time, the DVD's sealed final version came to us, which we ensured was signed by the applicant. Then, we stored it in the record room. We are ready to cooperate with the investigating agency.“

This isn't the first time that a film has been leaked on the internet. Despite being the highest earning Marathi film, Sairat suffered at the box office as it was available online even before its release. Rahul Haksar, a distributor of Marathi films, says, “Sairat did well due to its strong content. Had it not been for the leak on the internet, it would have done 25 per cent more business.“

PRODUCERS RUE LOSSES
Even last year, films like Dilwale and Manjhi: The Mountain Man made their way online before opening in cinemas. Director Ketan Mehta, who helmed the Nawazuddin Siddiqui-starrer Manjhi said, “It is an issue close to my heart, as I have personally experienced it. Our film suffered an almost 50 per cent dent in the box office collections because of the leak. The government needs to take strict action against piracy. The first step is to ban all the websites where new films are easily available. I also feel large corporates should be more responsible, as I have often seen them advertising on these websites, indirectly contributing towards the theft.“

The producers' fraternity in Bollywood is worried about the rampant leaks. Closed-door meetings are being held to find a solution to this problem. Producer Kumar Taurani said, “An individual producer is helpless in such a situation. The entire fraternity has to come together to fight this menace. The Producers' Guild has already approached the government and talks are on. This needs to be sorted out as soon as possible.“

DIFFICULT TO TRACK THE SOURCE OF PIRACY ONLINE
Calling the film leaks unfortunate, a veteran producer-distributor says, “These events affect the business by 20 per cent. Sometimes, distributors take unfair advantage of the situation and seek to exit the deal. A studio like Balaji Motion Pictures can manage to try and minimise the damage. They've done an appropriate thing by releasing GGM a week earlier. Before the advent of the internet, movie pirates would sell cassettes, VCDs and DVDs, now they sell on pen drives.“

Declining to blame the CBFC, the producer-distributor source adds, “Though the Censor Board has opted for digital packaged content in recent months, it's not right to blame them for the leak. They follow a process to safeguard the film, papers are signed by the producers' representatives and the DVD is sealed. The producers can check if there is any tampering done.“

In the same vein, Harsh Jain, a fourth-generation film distributor adds that a majority of the youth prefer to watch films online. “If the film is mass-oriented, then upto 30 per cent of the business can be affected. Earlier, raids curbed this menace to a certain extent. With a sizeable population using mobile phones with internet, which has a wider reach, it's difficult to track the source of piracy.“

FILMMAKERS TO PROPOSE INSURANCE IN CASE OF ONLINE LEAKS?
When the screening of a film is jeopardised due to unforeseen circumstances, filmmakers have relied on insurance to cut their losses. Like Dostana, which registered lower footfalls as an aftermath of the 26/11 terror attack. Since the film was insured, the loss was less. However, the insurance policy for 'Distributors Loss of Profit' doesn't cover losses for films that get leaked online. Sumant Salian of an insurance broking firm, which sells cover for movies, says, “The challenge is the assessment of losses, and who will certify the loss quantum. However, we have been approached by clients in Bollywood to structure a policy that helps cut down losses in lieu of pre-release internet piracy.“