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If you are a discerning film buff from Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Indore, Allahabad or even Jhumritalaiya, sating your appetite on pirated DVD of the latest Hollywood and Bollywood releases, it is likely that the one you bought from the neighbourhood vendor made its way from Kolkata.

Industry insiders, city-based producers, filmmakers and even video pirates agree that Kolkata is the entry point of pirated DVD/VCD.

Once home to major film studios that churned out hits like Devdas, Do Bigha Zameen or Jaagte Raho and even the international City of Joy, Kolkata is the new capital of video pirates.

According to industry insiders, the city is not just the entry point for Hollywood blockbusters but also for new Hindi releases and even foreign language films, be it Japanese, Iranian or French. Available at throwaway prices on footpaths and street corners, pirated DVDs and VCDs stir up an annual business worth over a few hundred crores. Unofficial estimates put it at around Rs 3,200 crores annually.

Azmal Khan, a man who controls a large percentage of the local video piracy trade, with business interests in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and other major cities informed that pirated DVD/VCD enter Kolkata from the Indo-Bangladesh and Indo-Myanmar borders, through North 24 Parganas and Manipur respectively.

"One route is from Malaysia or China through Thailand to Bangladesh and then to Kolkata via Benapole border. The second path, while follows the same route till Thailand, takes detour from Myanmar and comes in through Moreh border in Manipur. Pirated copies of Hindi films also enter the country through Kolkata, after travelling from Dubai to Pakistan and then to Bangladesh," he stated.

Film producer and owner of Eskay Video, Ashok Dhanuka agreed. "From Kolkata the copies are sent through agents to different cities. In case of Bengali films the pirates somehow manage a copy of the master print and send it across to Bangladesh. Innumerable copies are made and then the DVDs and VCDs are returned via the same route through carriers," he said. Dhanuka, who heads the anti-piracy cell of trade body Eastern India Motion Pictures Association (EIMPA) pointed out that the business runs on an efficient and highly organised structure. "Asansol is one of the biggest market for pirated Hindi film DVDs. Unofficial estimates put the number of local shops at 70, some of them selling even 2,000 copies in a day," he said.

Conversations with vendors revealed that video pirates are adequately organised to have watertight compartments. "While some work only with Hindi films, others work with English and foreign language films. Some specialize in horror films, some with pornography and others with just classics films," Khan revealed.

According to filmmaker Haranath Chakraborty, moles within the system ensure that piracy is rampant. "Insiders help video pirates and are very hard to detect. We have tried sending master prints to exhibitors under the strict vigil of security guards when releasing a film but somehow prints always get leaked."

Dhanuka said that video piracy has been uncontrollable in the city in the last three years. "In 1995 the situation was more upsetting with pirated copies hitting the market on the very day of a film's release. We have played a significant role in over 1,000 raids on piracy dens across the state with help from the police since 1995 and the situation was somewhat manageable. Since 2004, however, the situation has worsened," he said.

EIMPA president JK Agarwal agreed. "Curbing piracy should be done by police and administration. Although they are trying, there should be more stringent laws to combat piracy and the police should regularly raid areas where pirated products are copied or sold," he said.

While the local film industry believes, piracy should be made a non-bailable offence, Chakraborty went a step further. "The issue of piracy should be discussed in the state Assembly and the Parliament, with the government taking it more seriously to take the necessary steps," he said.

Deputy Commissioner Gyanwant Singh of Kolkata Police's detective department, however, refused to acknowledge Kolkata as the country's gateway for pirated DVDs/VCDs. "We do not have any such records. As far as we know, Kolkata is notorious for copying the originals and selling them rather than being a route. During the course of last year we ceased pirated CDs, DVDs and VCDs worth Rs 6 crore, along with several copying machines," he stated.

Email author: drimi.chaudhuri@hindustantimes.com
Email author: sudipto.shome@hindustantimes.com