HYDERABAD: Basking in the success of his latest film ‘Udta Punjab', notwithstanding the pre-release controversies surrounding it, film maker Abhishek Chaubey says he has already lost upto 30 per cent of revenue owing to piracy.
Copies of the film were leaked online even before release of the film. Abhishek was in the city for the launch of Telangana Intellectual Property Crime Unit (TIPCU) on Friday.
Speaking of filmmakers like himself who according to him focus on unusual subjects and struggle hard to raise the money for such films, he says piracy is nothing but murderous.
39-year-old Chaubey, a native of Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh, who finished his high school education from Hyderabad, said, “Next time when I approach an investor, he wont see if the movie was leaked online or not. He will only look at the final numbers and he would not be encouraged to put his money in.”
Lauding the TIPCU, he wished the initiative be replicated in Mumbai and other parts of the country. Acknowledging that someone who works 28 days a month would not be inclined to watch serious content on movies, he stressed that it is important for filmmakers to deal with subjects of social relevance.
“My film is about the problem of drug abuse. It is a risky subject and about a social issue in the country and we tried to make it a mainstream film,” Abhishek said adding that mainstream films with big stars could still afford to take a hit due to piracy but filmmakers like him cannot.
“Because we make films with limited budget, our films don't even make it to the 100 crore club. Producers go out of the way and back the film and at the end of the day, they should not bear losses and instead should make some money. That does not happen if piracy exists,” he stated. On censorship, he says the need is for a certification process that evaluates the suitability of content in conjunction with filmmakers.