Hindi
Maharashtra govt’s new law to take on film pirates
MUMBAI: The film industry is agog with excitement after the government of Maharashtra promulgated an ordinance to curb audio-video piracy, prescribing preventive detention and equating pirates with drug offenders.
The ordinance was notified after a plea by the entertainment industry to Chief Minister Ashok Chavan that it was losing an estimated 8,20,000 jobs and $4 billion annually in potential revenue due to piracy.
The ordinance, signed by Governor SC Jamir, has included audio-video piracy in the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities Act (MPDA) which has provisions for preventive detention of likely perpetrators.
The ordinance categorises audio-video pirates with slumlords, bootleggers, drug offenders and dangerous persons, besides calling for the imprisonment of offenders for up to 12 months. But it is not yet clear whether one who is caught buying a piarted copy will also be apprehended under the Act.
“The ordinance is a landmark because it reflects the government‘s resolve to fight piracy on a war-footing,” says filmmaker Mukesh Bhatt.
Said Motion Picture Distributors. Association (India) Managing Director Rajiv Dalal, “We applaud the passage of this deterrent legislation that places piracy offenses under the Maharashtra state organised crime statute.
“Over the last several months, the release of the RAND report on ‘Film Piracy, Organised Crime and Terrorism‘ has established strong links between film piracy and organised crime/terrorist funding in India. This legislation is indeed timely and will significantly curb piracy and funding to organised criminal and terrorist syndicates in one of the most important global fim markets.”
With the promulgation of the ordinance, people in the film industry believe that stringent action would now be taken against violators of the law and this could witness the beginning of the end of piracy.
Hindi
Rashmika Mandanna, Shanaya Kapoor and Naila Grrewal climb IMDb’s Indian celebrity rankings
Upcoming films and returning shows are driving fan interest across Bollywood and streaming
MUMBAI: Bollywood’s popularity contest has a new weekly scorecard, and the numbers are telling. IMDb’s Popular Indian Celebrities list for this week places Shanaya Kapoor at number six, buoyed by buzz around her film Tu Yaa Main. Naila Grrewal slots in at seven on the back of the returning comedy series Maamla Legal Hai, while Rashmika Mandanna climbs to eighth, riding mounting anticipation for Cocktail 2.
The list, available exclusively on the IMDb app for Android and iOS, tracks trending Indian entertainers and filmmakers each week, drawing on data from more than 200m monthly visits to the platform worldwide.
Further down the rankings, Raaka is keeping two of its biggest names in the spotlight. Deepika Padukone holds 11th position, with Allu Arjun close behind at 13th, as the film continues to find traction with audiences.
The list offers fans a weekly pulse on who is breaking through, who is holding steady, and who is fading. It is a barometer as unsparing as the box office itself.
