Pirates take out bang from Boom

<div class="section1"><div align="left" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="left" border="1" width="77.5%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><script language="javascript" src="Config?Configid=43376741"></script><br /><a href="javascript:popUp(&quot1;photopop?msid=174296&type=0&quot1;)"> <img border="0" align="left" src="/cms.dll/thumb?height=230&width=230&photoID=174296" hspace="12"" /></a></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="">Click to enlarge picture</span></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal">MUMBAI: Film pirates seem to have taken the bang out of Bollywood''s most eagerly awaited project <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Boom</span>.Pirated VCDs of the Rs 18-crore bilingual film are freely available in the market a fortnight before its scheduled release on September 19.<br /><br />According to sources, pirated VCDs of the film''s English version were available in Ulhasnagar and Kalyan on Monday for Rs 60. "By Tuesday afternoon, pirated copies were available in Mumbai, New Delhi, Punjab, Gujarat and Goa," said one of the film''s distributor.<br /><br />He said he had been receiving frantic calls from other film distributors who are worried about the film''s fate at the box office. The film''s distribution rights have reportedly been sold for Rs 1 crore per territory.<br /><br />"If the pirated VCDs are of good quality and has the uncensored steamy scenes, than the film''s business at the box office will be adversely affected," says film trade analyst Amod Mehra. <br /><br />The Censor Board had ordered for 18 cuts in the film, which focuses on the heady but dangerous mix of the fashion world and the underworld.<br /><br />The two-hour-long <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Boom</span> directed by <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Bombay Boy</span> Kaizad Gustad and produced by Ayesha Shroff, boasts a high-profile starcast -- sexy supermodels Madhu Sapre, Lakshmi Parvathi and Katrina Kaif, three leading fashion designers Tarun Tahiliani, Rohit Bal and Wendell Rodricks, superstar Amitabh Bachchan and actors Jackie Shroff and Jaaved Jafferi. The film''s highlight is a cameo by Bo Derek and yesteryear''s beauty queen Zeenat Aman.<br /><br />Counter-piracy experts say the recent incident has once again highlighted the growing menace of film piracy which gobbles up 60 per cent or Rs 1,000 crore of the film industry''s revenues every year.<br /><br />It also highlights how modern technology has given pirates a clear edge over filmmakers. "Now, pirated copies of new films are available even a day before their theatrical release," says film producer Anil Nagrath, who heads the anti-piracy cell of Association of Motion Pictures & TV programme Producers. <br /><br />Earlier too, pirated VCDs of Deepa Mehta''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Earth</span> and Ashok Mehta''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Moksh</span> were available in the country much before their theatrical release.<br /><br />According to Nagrath, many overseas market require producers to send copies of their films to the local censorship board a week in advance. "The film''s are normally sent abroad on Monday night and this is the point of the leak. By Thursday, pirated CDs and VCDs are available in the market," he added.<br /><br />"Now, it is possible to flood the market with one lakh VCDs within 24 hours," said Ravi from Feature Films Copyright, a private security agency. <br /><br />"All a pirate needs is a video CD writer which costs about Rs 10,000. Depending on the capacity of the CD writer, an operator can make between five to 25 copies from a master copy of the film in three minutes," he explained.</div> </div>