Indian police raid vendors
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However, say some, the issue may be a case of the pot calling the kettle black | | In Much Demand: It takes two hands to clap; the customer is at least partly to blame File Photo |
Pirated CDs/DVDs 11 January, 2011 - In what should be good news for the local film and music industries, vendors selling pirated Bhutanese video and audio CDs in the neighbouring Indian town of Jaigaon have drastically declined.
This was a result of the recent raid Jalpaiguri police conducted in the area. Before the raid, pirated Bhutanese movies and music CDs were sold openly in almost all the stalls in the town. In an attempt to attract Bhutanese customers, loud music was played from the stalls, while movies were screened on small portable screens. A vendor said, apart from Bhutanese products, the police seized other pirated DVDs and CDs, such as Korean, Hollywood and Bollywood movies. “I’ve now switched to selling mobile accessories instead,” he said. Today, except for a few, many stalls were shut, for good. But the raid has not deterred those, who survived it from cashing in on the situation. They charged extra, with a music album that was being sold at Nu 20 earlier now costing no less than Nu 30. And, as expected, the transactions were being done with extra caution. The consignments are kept hidden in black polythene bags and delivered to only those, who were familiar to them. Many said they purchased the pirated movies and audio CDs from Siliguri town. Others said it came from Nepal. On an average, about 50 to 60 copies were sold in a day before the raid, with some Bhutanese purchasing in bulk. A vendor said the demand for Bhutanese movies was higher than others, since it came in better quality. He intends to bring in more. The raid was an upshot of the last border coordination meeting. Phuentsholing police spokesperson said, following the meeting, they wrote to Jalpaiguri superintendent of police, along with some photographs,” he said. “Our Indian counterparts assured on being more vigilant on the issue,” he said. Meanwhile, the motion pictures association of Bhutan vice president Wangchuk said it would make a huge difference if the vendors stopped the practice altogether. “A one time raid won’t be of much help,” he said. Amidst the concern, observers remarked if Bhutanese singers and film makers were really concerned about piracy, they should avoid practising it themselves by producing original scripts and songs, rather than so called adaptations. “It’s easy to point fingers,” said one. “Almost every Bhutanese movie is a remake of a Bollywood movie. At times, the entire story line, including songs, are lifted from elsewhere, which is ridiculous.” Motion pictures Wangchuk denied the accusation and said the industry emulating others was not as serious an issue as compared to piracy. He said copying of scripts and tunes happened everywhere and cannot be controlled. However, officials of intellectual property division under the economic affairs ministry disagreed. “When adapting, one still required the original author’s specific permission,” said an official. By Kinga Dema |
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