Cinematograph Amendment Bill: South Indian film fraternity hopes it curbs piracy, but seeks more clarity

Who is to report the offence?

The Cinematograph Amendment Bill-2023 is aimed at addressing film piracy and improving film certification. (iStock)

Former president of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce and Karnataka Film Exhibitors’ Association KV Chandrashekhara welcomed the amendment, but pointed out that it is not clear who is to report the unauthorised activity of recording films inside the theatres.

He hoped that the final draft, when made public, will further clarify the piracy aspect.

“For instance, when a culprit is caught recording films unauthorisedly inside the theatre, who should report it? Theatre owners would only be exhibiting the films with no exclusive rights to the content. In such a situation, I feel the police should take suo moto action. It needs a lot of clarity,” Chandrashekhara told South First.

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Sajeesh Lal, one of the partners in Vismaya Cinemas (Perinthalmanna, Kerala) and vice-president of Film Exhibitors’ United Organisation of Kerala (FEOUK), echoed the same concern.

Telugu director Satish Kasetty. (Facebook)

“Even though the bill says ‘websites will be blocked’, it will become a headache for producers to find the portal and inform law enforcers. I am not sure how practical all these factors are, given the fact that the film fraternity itself should handle the task.”

However, Tollywood director Satish Kasetty asserted that one cannot record footage in the theatre with phones anymore.

“There is monitoring in some theatres. If anyone is recording, they will be punished as per the law. If you punish 10-15 people, the rest of the people will fall in line.”

New-age categories for classifying films 

Such a system has been in force in other countries, especially in the US. All these days, we have U (Unrestricted), U/A (Unrestricted with parental guidance under age 12), and A (Adults only).

“This one (amendment) is nothing new. Further age categories for classifying movies for film certification could lead to more confusion. However, we need to look into the final draft as to how it is addressed,” Chandrashekhara felt.

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“Theatre owners have long been collecting full ticket prices for age group five and above and with new categories, checking the children’s age and justifying why they are not allowed to watch a certain movie would be a task in itself, especially for the adults accompanying them,” he added.

The Indian film industry is a crucial part of our cultural heritage, but piracy has been a constant threat to it. The Union Cabinet’s approval of Cinematography Act 2023, is a major step forward towards safeguarding & promoting the film industry. pic.twitter.com/BMP0yiAj59

— Anurag Thakur (@ianuragthakur) April 19, 2023

Time will tell

Kannada director PC Shekar. (Facebook)

Kannada director PC Shekar felt that the new Bill should be studied thoroughly to find out how beneficial it is for the film industry.

As of now, a majority of the producers hire third parties to detect piracy on various digital platforms and report or restrict specific websites or social media platforms exhibiting pirated versions of the films.

“Now that the government has stepped in, there is hope that an official body will address the issue. If nothing, at least the number of cases will come down to some extent,” Shekar told South First.

On film certification based on age, Tollywood producer Mahi V Raghav, too, concurred that it has always been there in the US. “This new classification now in India is clear. Only time will tell as to how much it will help,” he said.

Raghav noted that any certification is useless due to the easy access to the Internet.

Tollywood producer Mahi V Raghav. (Facebook)

“Since kids have access to mobile data and internet technology, this certification doesn’t seem relevant at all. Earlier, when certification happened, it was only for television and movies.”

Content is watched on phones

Raghav pointed out that maximum content in India is watched on phones and not laptops. He also wondered how efficiently the film industry would be able to control the content.

“In the case of Apple and Blueberry phones, we can’t even find security breaches. Hence, we should make use of technology to control the content, too. We usually wake up much later and by the time we realise it, it will be too late,” he said.

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Recertification

As regards the 10-year time limit for the validity of film certification, Mahi V Raghav told South First: “Many films are getting recertified every 10 years. Keeping track of them is not always possible.”

Recertification is needed for films that are streamed on television. (iStock)

Earlier, when an A-certified film was rejected for television, the producer would pay money and get a U/A certificate, and  television would telecast it after 11 pm.

“Now the new rule allows the filmmaker to go for re-certification after deleting cuss words, violence/gore or adult content for streaming on TV. I remember Pokiri was premiered on TV with cuss words and none complained,” Satish Kasetty said.

Sajeesh Lal felt glad that the government is finally aware that content with high importance is being viewed by people of all age groups not only in films but also on other platforms.

“For instance, parents visit my theatre along with their kids to watch A-rated movies. Their outlook is different and nobody can change it,” he added.