Today we live a stressful life and movies have become an integral part of our entertainment. I remember few years back I could watch a movie for Rs 30 which was quite under budget. No one really bothered about watching a pirated cassette and none made noise about pirated movies.

But these days people are willing to buy pirated movies than watching the movie in a theater. There are several reasons for that . I was thinking what should be done to reduce video piracy. Here are some of my thoughts.

1) Reduction in Actor Remuneration

How can a hero charge Rs.16 to 20 crores per film? If the cost of production comes down people can afford watching the movie in theaters. I see top bollywood heroes and heroines preaching against piracy. If 50% of the money I paid for watching for a movie goes into paying to lead actors, what right do they have to talk about piracy? . If they charge less production cost would come down and so would be the piracy.

If producers have right to earn Rs.250 crores by making a movie like Ghajini, actors have right to charge more than Rs.15 crores per movie, multiplexes have the right to charge me Rs 150 for each ticket, Rs 60 for a pop corn and 50 for a coke, every spectator will have right to buy a pirated DVD for Rs 30 on a pavement. Folks reduce your profits and reduce the piracy.

2) Improvement in Movies’ Quality

I made the mistake of watching couple of movies by watching the amazing trailers that were played in the break time. Trailers were superb but when I went for the movie it was as stupid as it could be. Why should I spend 1000 rupees for a family on a movie and get stranded with stupid movies, which was not even worth 10 rupees. So come out with good movies instead of coming with silly remakes.

3) Understanding Market Conditions

When market is not ready to pay more, cheap products find place. It is the producer’s job to deliver his product at the right price. Since the prices are exorbitantly high for movies, piracy has seen flourishing. The very fact that a person buys a pirated DVD for Rs.30 to 50, is a clear indication of the acceptable price range for the masses.

When a DVD player costs only Rs 3500, why should a DVD cost Rs. 500+. The cost of a blank CDs and DVDs has reduced considerably but there is not much reduction in the original CDs and DVDs. Producers and Distribution companies should reduce the cost of CD/DVD thereby encouraging people to buy originals.

If an original good quality DVD did not cost more than Rs 50 then there would be no piracy. If the production house distributes its content close to the prices of pirated ones, piracy will have to take a dip. Moserbaer’s initiatives in the right direction is worth emulating. Instead of selling 10 DVDs for 500 each, sell 1000 DVDs for Rs 50 each and you will make the same profit. This network of pirates cannot be wiped out in a few months’ time as it has become their reliable source of income and there is a need to convert them into legitimate distribution centers of entertainment products

4) Availability Of Original DVDs

Production houses should release original DVD to the market as soon as the movies are withdrawn from theaters. The window between theatrical release and the home video release is too wide a gap for people to wait and watch them at home. People don’t have patience to wait for a good movie and they would rush to the pirated dvd vendor or will download a copy from the net. So release your DVD as soon as the movies are taken off the theaters.

I hope the movie makers realize this soon and come up with ground breaking strategies that would help everyone – the movie makers, the audience and the middlemen.

Anyone listening ?

Image Credit: Jacob Botter

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