Crores are splashed to turn a storyline into a film and make it reach the theatres. Not just stars and technicians, hundreds of people earn their livelihood through cinema. Times have changed and so is the cost associated with film production. Even for a film with no star cast, the investment will surpass crores and it is a given. The months of hard work from the crew reach fruition when people flock to theatres in good numbers and witness the marvel on screen.

Nowadays, not just theatres provide the ideal movie experience. Mobile phones are ubiquitous and watching a movie on a 6-inch screen is not bad either. For many commoners, it turns out to be a luxury.

It is estimated that fake versions cost the Indian film industry around Rs 20,000 crore annually. The Central government has taken strict measures to block websites, apps and online links that show fake versions.

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has promised strong action against culprits. According to the Cinematograph Amendment Act passed by the Parliament, the violators will be imprisoned for three months to three years. A penalty of up to three lakhs or five per cent of the total audited production cost will be incurred. The penalty and imprisonment initiatives have not done the needed work to quell the pirated versions of newly released movies from hitting the internet.

Fake versions of the recently released movie 'A.R.M.' were widely circulated on social media. In the investigations, the police arrested the culprits. it was with startled faces that the officials got to know that the duo were top IT graduates with good educational records.

The pirated version is spread mostly by top officials in the IT sector. Police reports suggest that the duo were getting Rs 44,000 per month and Rs 10,000 per film from the infamous Tamil Rockers group, known for circulating pirated copies. Malayalam films never used to be a craze outside the southern belt and thus no serious inspection would happen inside theatres in Kerala. The youngsters took leverage of the situation to furtively record the video and later circulate the pirated version. About 35 fake versions of the released films were found in the mobile phones of the accused.

Years of effort and money spent are going straight to the drain due to the rampant piracy crimes. Just minutes after a movie gets its OTT release, the pirated versions appear on apps such as Telegram. Such channels and groups often get blocked on complaints from the OTT officials, but it has been proven as a futile exercise. It won’t take long for the channels to resuscitate back and continue their same old shenanigans.