UTV Demands Hefty Compensation

The piracy racket has really turned out to be big and can now be traced right up to Pakistan with some even dropping the name of Dawood Ibrahim. The latest is that UTV, the producers of Ashutosh Gowariker’s ‘What’s Your Raashee?’ have demanded a hefty compensation of Rs 50 crore each from Adlabs and UFO Moviez for their alleged role in the film’s piracy and for infringing on copyright. The parties have apparently been given a week to pay up the amount. To briefly recount, the masterprint of Gowarikar’s latest movie was stolen from Adlabs on Monday and copies of it made and sold to the pirates. According to sources, an UFO employee has also confessed to the pirating of some other movies as well. UTV has also written to IMPAA. In fact a delegation of producers consisting of Yash Chopra, Ratan Jain and Mukesh Bhatt will be meeting the Police Commissioner today. The stakes are high for pirates as ‘What’s Your Raashee?’ is one of the biggest films coming out of Bollywood this year. Producers and directors have been plagued by the piracy mess for years now. It was a stroke of luck that Gowariker’s timely complaint, backed by some prompt action from the cops at least exposed how the racket was flourishing in the offices of esteemed labs like Adlabs. The role of insiders was obvious but it is perhaps the first time that the perpetrators of the crime have been caught red handed. Hopefully, if the matter is taken seriously by the cops, one could see the masterminds and their modus operandi exposed.