Anurag Kashyap didn’t sermonize
us on downloading a film from the internet. He didn’t go on explaining how it
makes things difficult for the filmmakers on the financial front. He simply requested
people to wait till Saturday to download Udta Punjab.
Now there is no data to see the
effectiveness of Anurag Kashyap’s appeal has been. But given the row over the
film and the talks of its portrayal of Punjab drug problem in a sincere way, as
Shyam Benegal said that it was sensitive portrayal of the issue, and the
Central Board of Film Certification’s attempts to delay the film or dilute its
content, the film needed a good opening, reposing faith in people’s
sensitivities on matters that directly affect people. And with Rs. 10 Crore
box-office collection on Friday, we can say Udta Punjab got a satisfactory
opening - in spite of the spectre of the online leak of the film before its
release.
Now that its first Saturday is passé
and Udta Punjab has received rave reviews, let’s turn to probably the most
important element of Anurag Kashyap’s appeal that he wrote on his Facebook page
on June 16 – 'our right to download’.
Anurag Kashyap wrote – “I also
say that no one can stop your right to download a film.”
Anurag is probably the first
filmmaker in India who has openly endorsed the phenomenon of film downloading
from the internet.
While the small time filmmakers
cannot afford to care if the pirated prints of their films are available in the
market or on the internet, the big names of the Indian film industry have taken
extra precautions, including crackdown on piracy hubs and on websites, before
their films hit the theatres.
Film and music industry
associations in India have established their own anti-piracy monitoring
agencies. They conduct raids on pirates in collaboration with the law
enforcement agencies. They usually hire ex-police officers for this purpose.
Julio Rebeiro is one of the most decorated police officers who have been
associated with the initiative.
And even if Anurag Kashyap has
advocated for ‘downloaders’ right to download' films, Ekta Kapoor, another
producer of Udta Punjab, had two sleepless night working with the law
enforcement agencies to keep a tab on the download links of the movie.
So, did Anurag Kashyap err or was
it a frustrated appeal driven by the realization that once a film gets online,
there is no way to estimate how fast and how far it can spread – or was it a
sincere appeal given the fact that he used terms like ‘lack of access’ and
‘free internet’. He wrote in his appeal – “Piracy happens because of lack of
access and in a world of free internet, I do not have a problem with it.”
What Anurag has done could add to
the marketing efforts of the film. The film has been in controversies. And the
mass perception is – filmmakers and films were made victims by the
establishment in this case – by the CBFC. And people tend to be on the victim’s
side.
What Anurag says on ‘downloaders’
right to download a film’ is sort of Coelho-esque. The Brazilian author of the
global best-seller ‘The Alchemist’ is a known backer of the pirates, at least
of his books. According to an interview given to the Guardian, he has called on
"all pirates of the world to unite and pirate everything he has ever
written".
Paulo Coelho writes in his
official blog – “The physical sales of my books are growing since my readers
post them in P2P sites (peer-to-peer file sharing sites).”
What Coelho gets through piracy
of his books? He engages prospective readers first and then try to convert them
into faithful readers by requesting them to buy a copy of his book if they
liked it online.
We should not compare the two
contexts here. A good book serves as a ‘collectible’ in your personal library’.
It remains throughout there – physically. A film watching experience in a
theatre doesn’t fulfil this need until the Blu-ray or DVD title is released,
that usually happens after some months of the theatrical release.
But the point is – the most
pirated prints online are not good in quality and if downloaders find it a
brilliant creation worth a theatre visit, they would sure make a favourable
decision - like going to the theatres.
Online piracy of films - if used
as a marketing tool - if we see Anurag Kashyap's appeal in this context - like
Paulo Coelho does with his books - isn’t it then basically about connecting to
the readers (or viewers) first?
LEGALITY OF DOWNLOADERS' RIGHTS
Law says downloading films from the
P-2-P sites is illegal. We regularly come across newsy items that this many of
torrent websites have been blocked. Even then we know that film downloading is
rampant.
It is like adults films in the theatres.
It is like pornographic sites on the internet. If there are adult films being
screened, they will find their viewers. If there are pornographic websites on
the internet, we cannot stop people from visiting them.
Unless we crackdown on the
theatres showing adult films. Unless we block the pornographic websites.
Those who believe in values like
freedom of expression cannot for that that. Blocking pornography on the
internet has divided the nation.
We cannot and we should crackdown
on downloaders as long as there are content-sharing websites. If there is film
available online for free, people would obviously download it.
CATCH THEM WHERE THEY ARE!
If the DVD business is dying -
due to increasing digital distribution, cloud storage and piracy - if the BO
collection has to remain under the shadow of piracy threats – then why can't
cinema be taken to more and more people – people who see the online access as
the preferred reference point for their cinema-watching experience?
Why restrict cinema only to
theatres? Why can’t a movie be released simultaneously in theatres and on the
internet? Why can’t it be made available on cable television's on-demand
services?
According to a recent Google
India report, one in ten online searches on Google is cinema related. Movie
junkies on the internet frantically search for downloadable links whenever a
new film hits the theatres. The next stage is obviously about sharing the file
and in no time the film is all across the internet.
Even China could not prevent
images of Wukan protests from going viral on the Internet and therefore in the
whole world. Wukan is a Chinese village that was the epicentre of the anti-corruption
protests in 2011 and had seen months long police-villagers standoff. Villagers
alleged that their land was taken from them by the government officials and they
were not paid proper compensation.
Even Russia could not effectively
censor political bloggers and activists like Alexei Navalny for writing against
Vladimir Putin. The internet is a maze where monitoring content is a tiresome
process with no guarantee of results.
If China and Russia cannot stop the
internet sites from hosting the material that they do not want, how can we
expect the same from filmmakers?
That may be the realization behind
what Anurag Kashyap has written.
Then why can't it be used to advantage
then? It is better to befriend an adversary whom you know you can never win.
Many people would come forward to
pay for downloading a film on their smartphones or computers if they an
authentic print on the same day the film is being released in the theatres. And
when you cannot stop online piracy, whatever you get by making your film
simultaneously available on the internet platforms will only increase your
revenue.
ALSO, WATCHING FILMS IN THEATRES IS A SOCIAL HABIT
Going to the theatres to watch
films is a social habit and by the growing number of films doing business over
Rs. 100 Crore, we can say online film piracy has not hurt this habit so badly
as is projected. In fact, the BO collection trend has shifted the business
threshold for blockbuster films to Rs. 500 Crore.
A good case in point here is the
major Hollywood hits. Any major Hollywood film that is released in India has
its good print already available to download from the internet. In spite of
that they do good BO business. The Revenant is 2015 Hollywood hit that was
released in India in February 2016 and in spite of that it earned Rs. 3.5 Crore
in its opening weekend, an impressive figure for a Hollywood film in India.
People who enjoy free time with
films will always do so in the theatres - and they like to do so in the first
week of the release of a film. According to a Deloitte report, a film in India earns
as much as 60% of its total BO collection it the first week of its release.