KOCHI: The latest among movies leaked online just days after its release is ‘Mamangam’, the Mammootty-starrer made with a whopping Rs 60 crore. While an FIR was registered and the link pulled off the TamilRockers site, where it was illegally uploaded, there seems to be no headway in the case yet.
Not surprising, considering that a majority of cases filed by the Malayalam film industry against piracy seems to have hit a dead end. While authorities cite many reasons, including the fact that the pirated copy is hosted from a foreign or fake server, the fact remains that justice is still a long way off, leaving the Copyrights Act toothless.
According to Kerala Film Producers Association (KFPA), every movie that collected more than `1 crore as theatre share in the recent times was leaked online. “We don’t keep track of the number anymore because every single movie that creates ripples in the box office is being leaked online. We had approached the police many a time with complaints. But, nothing has happened. Earlier, there was an anti-piracy cell with the police department but we aren’t sure about its operations now,” said the anti-piracy cell representative of the KFPA.
Plugging the hole
Though the Kerala Police had a fully functional anti-piracy cell until a few years ago, the wing seems to have branched out. While some cases are being handled by the hi-tech cell, a few come under the Crime Branch.
As per the official figures, 119 cases were registered under the Copyrights Act in 2018, while the number was 221 in 2017. This year, only five cases have been registered under the Act so far. Despite this, none of the complaints filed by producers in the recent times, including ‘Varathan’ (2018), ‘Ramaleela’ (2017) and ‘Premam’ (2015), bore results.
But, what’s stopping the Kerala Police from nabbing the offenders? ADGP Manoj Abraham, who is the nodal officer of Cyberdome, said the host server through which the upload happens is always based abroad, mainly European countries like Sweden.“This is a lengthy procedure. We may identify a server, but people in this illegal business keep switching servers every month. It takes at least six months for a response to come through a foreign authority, by which time the movie would have gone from the theatres. Naturally, the makers lose interest in pursuing the case further,” said Manoj Abraham.
“Cracking such cases will be possible only if there is better international cooperation. We do have enough resources for the same, but there needs to be a global jurisdiction. But, we have noted there is always a Malayali link in these cases,” the ADGP said.He added that though there is at least 50-60 per cent success rate in cracking cases under the Copyrights Act, the police are yet to nail serial offender websites like TamilRockers.
“We did arrest them last year, but they are back in business. The police have reasons to believe that much of the leak happens from within the film industry,” said the ADGP.Suresh Kumar, KFPA president, agrees that the leak may happen in theatres. “We had launched a probe into that. Many a time, it happens from theatres outside India. We identified a cinema hall in Bengaluru and banned them. The new watermark technology helps us identify the source easily. We are planning to work closely with the police to plug the hole,” said Suresh Kumar.
Status so far
Premam (2015): Three people arrested for leaking the censor copy and later released on bail. Case in court. Complainant Anwar Rasheed Entertainments says it has received no intimation from the police or court till date
Ramaleela (2017): Case filed. No arrests
Varathan (2018): Case filed. Amal Neerad Productions submitted evidence, including phone numbers. No arrests
Mamangam (2019): FIR registered. The team produced evidence hinting industry links. No headway yet
The latest to be bitten by piracy bug is Mamangam. Probe into online leakage usually reaches a dead end as culprits are cyber smart and producers lose interest due to procedural delays
Copyright Act
Year No of cases
2016 176
2017 221
2018 119
2019 5 (Till Oct)