Ask any teenager from the late 90s and even the most unassuming one will confess to a notorious history of discovering new music and movies through piracy. The noughties arrived with bootleg video libraries and dial-up internet modems. And the new web-straddling generation — mostly ignorant or uncaring of ethical and legal bearings of piracy — were either buying shaky-cam versions of a blockbuster off the streets or downloading entire discographies and films over peer-to-peer file-sharing networks.

It was only a crackdown on illegal sites and shops and the advent of streaming tech that prompted ex-torrenters to kick their habit. However, piracy is anything but dead.

Turns out, if streaming services love the cloud, the pirates love it too since it makes it easier to download, mirror and circulate content illegally and harder for broadcasters to track them. The year 2020 particularly sparked a video piracy bonanza as the pandemic kept people home and out of theatres. Antipiracy agency Aiplex in Bengaluru notes that 23 million people in India had watched at least one episode of ‘Scam 1992’ although Sony LIV accounted for only two million subscribers while ‘Aashram’, one of MX Player’s most popular shows, would have gained 20% more viewership if watched legally.

“According to a report by Digital TV Research in 2021, the loss of revenue for OTT players on account of piracy in India is expected to hit $3.08 billion by 2022, while the cost of global online streaming piracy will reach $52 billion by 2022,” points out Girish Kumar, managing director of Aiplex.

Gautam Talwar, chief content officer for MX Player, calls piracy a “hard habit to break” given people’s inclination to download pirated versions of their content despite shows being available for free on their ad-driven platform. Talwar, during a recent consumer survey, stumbled upon hole-in-the-wall shops that have sprung up in cities like Indore and Bhopal where every web series available on every platform is being sold for as little as Rs 20.

“These are located close to coaching centres and youngsters equipped with laptops and catalogues of entire series with their IMDb ratings are transferring content onto people’s phones. It’s so organized that it’s scary. It’s hurting the business and creative people,” says Talwar.

“The exponential growth of OTT services has sort of facilitated piracy because the same technology of sending content over a high-speed internet connection is being leveraged by pirates to distribute and monetize content,” says Sharath Kumar, founder and CEO of the Chennai-based MassBunk Antipiracy that recently removed 14,000 pirated links of the film ‘Vikram’, within a week of its release.

As piracy enters this new landscape, techies like Sharath and Girish Kumar, with their teams comprising data scientists, software engineers, copyright experts and offline investigators, are using artificial intelligence and state-of-the-art proprietary tools to tackle the tidal wave of pirated content on the web.

“As a computer engineer fresh out of college in 2016, my dream was to become a filmmaker. But as a techie, watching piracy destroy budding directors and producers, I decided to get together with a few college mates and design something that would weed out piracy from its roots. Our motive was to protect not just the content but also investigate and nab those behind all the notorious sites,” recounts Kumar of MassBunk.

Helping a neighbour whose YouTube channel was deactivated because of a copyright strike gave Girish his most successful business idea. “It got me thinking about copyright enforcement. My team of engineers and I spent more than a year devising an antipiracy tool that can extract, validate and delete 95% of copyright infringements in the online space. Our AI-enabled pattern identification technology has also helped us draw up a list of potential and habitual offenders,” says Girish.

While much of it is still about movies and shows, digital piracy in its new avatar applies to e-books and gaming as well. If social media is often used to share pirated content within closed groups or as a signpost, the leading source of pirated content today, they claim, are popular messaging apps like Telegram with its end-to-end encryption that allows pirates and users to conceal their identity and share texts, videos, or other copyrighted content.

“Ninety per cent use Telegram to download their favourite movies, shows, music, and e-books. The process starts with a channel admin posting hyperlinks to pirated content available on a third party streaming/download site. These third-party sites pay the admins according to the number of visits, downloads and streams on their site,” explains Sharath.

“And pirates make most of their money from ad revenues. Legitimate businesses, including well-known brands in search of high traffic, inadvertently place their ads on pirate websites,” says Abhishek Dhoreliya, founder and CEO of MarkScan, an antipiracy agency in Delhi.

“Simulcasting or live streaming video to multiple channels from one platform; extraction of files and capturing videos from streaming services; mobile compatible modified versions of a streaming app that one can install on their Android device are some of the new trends,” says Girish, adding that, “NFT piracy is picking up pace, too, where pirates create counterfeit NFTs and sell them to unsuspecting buyers.”

The work of these antipiracy task forces begins at least a week before a film is about to be released, monitoring websites and Telegram channels round the clock that are likely to post links to the movie once the first pirated print is leaked. “We have teams dedicated to each regional language, and the moment anyone informs us over social media, DMs or email, we remove the links in bulk,” says Sharath, who has filed nearly 50 FIRs till date. MassBunk also teams up with social media influencers, fans and citizen collectives who often alert them to illegal links during a movie’s release.

“Our teams work round the clock to monitor online discussion forums, search engines, user generated platforms like YouTube and social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook,” says Dhoreliya, who has partnered with many of these sites for access to their ‘takedown tool’ that allows them moderator privilege to remove any pirated content on their platforms.

That apart, search-engine delisting and domain blocking via Ashok Kumar order (Indian substitute for John Doe order), a legal remedy against unknown offenders, is an effective counter-measure, believes Girish, whose team recently helped keep films like ‘JugJugg Jeeyo’ (Hindi), ‘Bairagee’ (Kannada), ‘Nadi Dosh’ (Gujarati), ‘Khaao Piyo Aish Karo’ (Punjabi) from popping up on rogue websites. “Such legal orders are a crucial strategy in tackling piracy ahead of big-ticket releases,” says Dhoreliya.

While piracy in India is a criminal act that could attract a three-year prison term and a fine of up to Rs 3 lakhs, most of the perpetrators use offshore servers in foreign countries like UK and France where laws and punishments differ, say these antipiracy crusaders. “Unlike physical CD shops and sellers that were easy to identify and catch, pirates could be anywhere in the world using privacy protection services to hide on the Internet,” adds Dhoreliya, who feels that changes in the copyright laws in India to address new forms of digital piracy and collaboration between stakeholders — content owners, government entities and antipiracy agencies — could help take the bull by the horns.

Though the general perception is that those born in Bollywood families have it easy, actor Girish Kumar chooses to disagree. Son of producer Kumar Taurani, who heads a music label and a production house with his brother Ramesh Taurani, the young actor took three years to prepare for his debut, Ramaiya Vastavaiya (2013), directed by Prabhu Dheva. It took him a couple of years to pick his next Loveshhuda, directed by Vaibhav Misra. Releasing this Friday, the film is about love stories that begin in bed and end up, well...wherever they rightly should. In this interview, the good-looking boy with a great bod, talks about romance, being a Casanova and his 'complicated' relationship status. Read on...

It's been over two-and-a-half years since your debut Ramaiya Vastavaiya. Why such a long gap before your second film?
After my first film, I guess people wanted to see what I would do next. I wanted to work outside my home banner and got a few offers too, but they were not the right subjects for me. Ramaiya Vastavaiya did well for a film with a newcomer, it was one of the top three-four debut films of that year. It's unfair to compare a Prabhu Dheva-directed film featuring a debutant, to his films starring Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar. I think somewhere the industry didn't take me seriously. Thankfully, coming from an affluent family, I didn't need to rush into anything to earn my bread and butter.

How did you cope during that period?
Initially, I thought that like Varun Dhawan, Sidharth Malhotra and Alia Bhatt, I might have to wait for a year before the next release. It got tough when I didn't get a suitable film for a year and a half. There were times when I went into depression. But I had faith; I prayed and chanted the Hanuman Chalisa. All that brought me peace. Even after I got this film it took me a while to feel good about everything. I was still healing during the first schedule. Now I am happier and at peace.

Is it tougher for a producer's son in this industry, as compared to an actor's son?
Sons of actors and directors have it much easier. For a producer's son, it's way harder. My uncle (Ramesh Taurani) is a producer while my dad handled the music side of the company. So he's not too friendly with the actors. Also, star kids are not part of my social circle. While as an actor I shouldn't be as bothered about another person's investment, as a producer's son I believe you are responsible for the person putting money on you. I'm trying to make a separate identity for myself as an actor, which is beyond our company.

How did Loveshhuda happen?
Vijayji (Galani), who had come to meet my father with Vaibhav (Misra), told me he had a subject he'd like me to hear. I didn't like it and asked if they had anything else. Vaibhav narrated a concept that I liked and asked him to develop it. Three months later, he came back with a bound script. But by then Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania had released and our film had similar traits. So it had to be rewritten, with more focus on the two main characters. Halfway through the new narration, I messaged my dad saying I had got my second film.

Do you think the film's tag line 'Some love stories begin in bed' could keep the family audience at bay?
The tagline is cool and catchy, and in your face. But that's what the film is about and it is something which people will relate to. In this day and age, I don't think it's such a taboo. We are blind if we believe that these things are not happening. The idea is to make a film that is not overtly progressive, but not regressive either. It is about two consenting adults, their life and their bodies. If something happens between them, it's fine. If not, that's fine too. I don't think the concept is too bold; we all have physical needs, and the more we try to suppress it, we will be dominated by it.

On the personal front, you've not shied away from admitting that you've lived the life of a Casanova? Until you got married last year?
No yaar. I haven't got married. Chhodo abhi woh baat.. Let's just say I am loveshhuda, it's complicated.

So you are still a Casanova? Do you use witty one-liners to impress women?
At heart, always. Why not? I don't use lines, but go for the bull's eye. If I like a girl, I approach her directly, and say, 'I think you're hot. Wanna join me for a drink.' Though lines are flattering, everyone knows you're trying too hard. I am also a romantic at heart, but I keep it real and natural, it's my style. It always works. I have a decent sense of humour, which usually never fails me.

With filmmakers pushing the envelope when it comes to content, Loveshhuda, starring Girish Kumar and Navneet Dhillon (Miss India World 2013), is a love story that starts in bed. This unconventional romance takes us through the lead actor's journey of bachelorhood and how he faces a conflict between practicality and true love. Thriving on music, friendship and humour, the film is a take on modern-day relationships as the protagonists explore various hurdles through a fun ride.

A young new pair leads the cast of the film, which has been shot in exotic locations. The movie's promo that launches today is keenly awaited. Its songs Mar jaayen and Peene ki tamanna, available on Tips Music, have already caught on with listeners.

Director Vaibhav Misra says, “Everyone will relate to the film. The slightly older generation would be reminded of their youth. All of us have one story that we remember as true love, and that's what the movie is all about.“

Producer Vijay Galani adds, “When I heard the script, I knew we had a winner on our hands. With the fresh pairing of Girish and Navneet, the film looks new age. That also makes it an interesting romcom to watch out for.“

With the lead characters' love-hate banter growing even as their chemistry is apparent, whether their bond, which begins in bed, will end as friendship, fling or romance, remains to be seen.

Loveshhuda releases on February 5.

Newcomer Girish Kumar tem porarily lost his voice during the shooting of his second film, Loveshhuda. First, he had to scream with high energy for a scene, which was okayed after a couple of takes. Then, he had to drink chilled alcohol through a funnel before breaking into the song, Peene Ki Tamanna, which was shot in a 100-year-old bar at an exotic location. According to a crew member, “After a brief discussion with the choreographer, Girish felt he should drink alcohol to enact the scene with conviction. But the high-pitched screaming followed by the liquor was too taxing for him. By the time they packed up, he had lost his voice.“

Cinematographer Bijitesh De got a fair idea of what Loveshhuda director Vaibhav Misra wanted from him in the first few meetings. “We shot the film in real locations so it would look glamorous and commercial without losing its realistic vibe,“ explains Bijitesh, who shot for the romantic comedy in London, Mauritius, Delhi and Shimla with lead actors Girish Kumar and Navneet Dhillon.

“About 50 per cent of the film is based in London. We shot there through the nippy nights of May and June. Three songs and a few key scenes were canned at the Millennium Bridge and opposite the iconic St Paul's Cathedral among other locations. Aaj Phir Peene Ki Tamanna Hai was shot at a 100-year-old Irish pub in London, Salisbury,“ says Bijitesh, adding that the pub's retro look complemented the song. “The place doesn't have a very discotheque-like ambience; it's old-school but also contemporary. It was an apt location.“

Shooting at the pub wasn't exactly a cakewalk. “We were granted permission to shoot for a few days but only at night because the place is functional during the day. I wanted to use smoke for a better effect but since it was a residential building, we had to get another set of permissions to keep the fire alarms from going off,“ the cinematographer explains, adding that the alarm went off on the first night of the shoot since they didn't know anything about it. “The residents came rushing down. We had to convince them that everything was alright to continue with the shoot,“ he laughs.

Another challenge that the crew faced was the weather, which is colder in May-June than Indian winters. “My hands would shake while holding the camera. Rain was another hazard. Daylights in the Queens's City happen around 4-4.30 am. Since we worked late in the nights, we had a very small window to shoot in the right light. Sometimes, people would walk into the frames.“

The team had better luck on the month-long Mauritius schedule. “We shot at exotic beaches and beautiful restaurants. For a beach party song, we created a huge stage, giving it a Tomorrowland-like feel,“ Bijitesh says, adding that he hauled all the shooting equipment from Mumbai to the location. “Mauritius doesn't have a film industry so there was no technical support. I didn't want to compromise on my work.“

The filming then shifted to Delhi and Shimla for a 15-day schedule. “Girish plays a Delhi boy based in London, and Navneet's character is from Shimla,“ the cinematographer informs.

How has your musical journey been?
It feels good that I have come so far and achieved success in my career. Music makes me happy. I have composed music that is close to my heart and never been influenced by trends. I have always been a musician on my own terms, which is extremely fulfilling. Each day, when I enter the studio, I am excited to compose something new.

How did Mar Jaayen happen?
Back in 2006, I was approached to compose a song for Bas Ek Pal. I had offered the makers three melodies - Tere Bin, Kuch Is Tarah and a melody that was more of a scratch. At that time, Girish Kumar would attend music sittings as he was working as an assistant in his company. While working on Loveshhuda, Girish still had that melody in his mind. He reminded me about it. At first, I couldn't recollect but later, I found the scratch. He wanted the song for his film. I connected with Sayeed Quadri saab who had penned the lyrics. We changed the words a little bit to give it a fresh appeal. Sayeed saab is one of the most prolific and substantial poets in the world today. We share a great rapport and enjoy working with each other.

You have collaborated with Atif Aslam again. What kind of an equation do you share with him?
I have always had a good time while working with Atif. He has sung my compositions really well and I love his voice. But at the same time, I am not hell-bent on working with a particular singer. For me, melody is the king. I am sure if I have a good melody, then any good singer can make it sound better.

What is the most important element while composing?
For me, the lyrics are the most important element in a song. The words are the face while the song and tune are heard by the audience at a subconscious level. People start connecting to the lyrics and the melody slowly seeps in. I have always focused on good lyrical content for all my songs. Now, I have started writing lyrics on my own and am enjoying this phase of my career.

When and how did you learn music?
I started learning music at the age of 11. My father (Naresh Sharma) was a leading music arranger. He has composed background music for over 200 films. Since my father was busy, he sent me to the right people to train myself. He used to observe me closely and would often see what I am practising. He listened to the tunes that I created. My father believed that to be a musician, you should listen to your inner self. No one can teach you how music composition is done. This helped me create my own style. The entire credit goes to him for showing me the right path when I was teenager.

When it comes to Bollywood music, which has been your favourite decade?
I grew up in the 90s and I am fond of that decade's music. At the same time, my father would make me hear the works of stalwarts like Madan Mohan, Laxmikant-Pyarelal and Mohammed Rafi. But if I had to pick one decade, it would be the 70s as I enjoy listening to that era's music.

Are you a spiritual person?
I think faith can never be quantified. I don't necessarily connect with religion as I believe that God is the father of all mankind and loves everyone unconditionally.

Do you consciously keep a low profile?
I am an introvert. Crowd and noise are a complete turn off for me. I do not believe in the theory of out of sight, out of mind. So I do not see the need to attend all the parties in town. These things actually derail me for days which ultimately affect my work commitments.

Many composers are also judging reality shows but we haven't seen you in one of them.
I have been open to the idea of judging a reality show and to be honest, I have been approached quite often. But it's just that I am not convinced with the kind of circumstances in which they work.

Singles are making a big comeback. Would we see you doing one in the near future?
In our country, music is too attached to cinema so the trend of singles picking up again is a welcome change. I am happy about it. Ultimately, it is the music that is being appreciated. I have heard a few of the singles that have released in the last few months and they are good. I do have a couple of offers and in 2016 you will see me coming up with a few singles.

Love stories are always complicated - this is the universal sentiment echoed by people who have been in relationships. Girish Kumar and Navneet Dhillon (Miss India World 2013) portray the intricacies of contemporary romance in their forthcoming film Loveshhuda.

After garnering praise for his debut film, Ramaiya Vastavaiya, Girish will once again be seen in a refreshing avatar. Joining him is the gorgeous Navneet who makes her foray into Bollywood. Helmed by Vaibhav Misra, the film revolves around two people who meet in three different places - London, Mauritius and Shimla - at three different times of their lives. They fall in love with each other despite the time and distance, but complications arise. The makers believe that today's youth will connect to the dilemmas faced by the couple in this story.

Pleased with the way the movie has shaped up, producer Vijay Galani says, “We have focussed on telling a love story that suits the present times and the risks that today's generation takes. With Tips Industries Ltd backing us, we're optimistic that Loveshhuda will work.“ Vaibhav adds, “Girish and Navneet lend themselves perfectly to their contemporary roles in this romantic drama.“

The film has five tracks, penned by Sayeed Quadri. The first song, Mar Jaayen, composed by Mithoon and rendered by Atif Aslam, is out now. Parichay has created the music for the other four numbers that have been sung by Vishal Dadlani, Arijit Singh, Mika Singh, Neha Kakkar, Teesha Nigam and Atif. Kumar Taurani of Tips sums up, “We're excited about the music of Loveshhuda. It's a winning soundtrack with a contemporary flavour and we can't wait to take it to our audiences.“

Loveshhuda releases January 15, 2016.

Girish Kumar, the son of producer and one of the owners of Tips, Kumar Taurani, debuted in Prabhu Dheva's Ramaiya Vastavaiya. He is now shooting his second film, that is a modern love story being directed by ad filmmaker Vaibhav Misra, slated for release this year. We learnt from sources close to the family that Girish married his longtime girlfriend of eight years, Krsna Mangwani, quietly in the presence of friends and family, on February 11 in Mumbai. Krsna is a Kalyan girl and also belongs to a Sindhi family, much like the Tauranis, who are also Sindhis. While Kumar Taurani and Girish remained unavailable for comment, we do know that Kumarji is planning a big bash possibly after the release of Girish's film. And we do hope he will serve his guests the yum Sindhi kadhi. Waiting for your announcement Kumarji.

Girish Kumar made his debut with Prabhu Dheva's Ramaiya Vastavaiya. In the same year, a beautiful Punjabi girl from Patiala Navneet Kaur Dhillon made it to become a Miss India. As destiny would have it, they have now been cast in the lead together in a modern contemporary love story, that will be directed by ad filmmaker Vaibhav Misra, who has also earlier assisted Farah Khan on Om Shanti Om. We bring you the first look of Navneet and Girish from the film, the shoot of which has already started and is slated for release in 2015.