With the advancement in technology, our lives have become easier and more comfortable. But in many ways this progress has not only proved to be a boon but a curse as well. Today we shall talk about one such curse that the technology has created – film piracy.

Piracy is a huge threat to any film industry around the globe – whether it is the most popular film industry in the world ‘Hollywood’ or the industry from our neighboring country India, popularly known as ‘Bollywood’. But when it comes to piracy of Nepali movies, the consequences are much more severe than any other industry. Nepali films have been the victims of piracy quite a lot lately. Talking about the recent ones, ‘Jhola’ and ‘Kohinoor’ are some examples. And the latest victim on the list is Dayahang Rai, Rishma Gurung and Saugat Malla starrer ‘Kabaddi Kabaddi’. Here’s ‘almost’ everything you need to know about film piracy of Nepali films.

What is film piracy?

In  simple words, uploading a film online which you are not authorized to, is piracy. That doesn’t mean every Nepali film on YouTube is pirated. Most of them are officially released by the publishing company having the film’s copyright.

Where do these pirated copies come from?

There are number of ways that people pirate movies. One of the popular ways is by ‘leaking’ them, which means a person goes to a cinema hall and records the movies with a camera or a phone. The second way is by hacking the computer of a film studio and copying the film. Fortunately, these two ways are not practiced in Nepal. So the question still remains unanswered. When the rights of a film is sold abroad, the film-makers send a digital copy of the film via internet. That means, the organizers would always have a copy of the film. The copies might be shared among friends and then there are more people with the film, making it more vulnerable to be shared online. Also, a team member from the production might do the mischief for some reason. Other ways might include buying an original DVD of the film and uploading it online.

How does piracy affect the film industry?

Our films are now not only limited to their screenings in Nepal. The films which do good in Nepal or have become popular even before their releases are often sold in various countries around the world. The films are generally screened only after few weeks of its release in Nepal and their screenings continue for a couple of months all around the world. If a film is uploaded online illegally, most of the people would prefer to watch it on their computers, for free of course, and hence the films will not be sold anymore or even if they are already sold, the organizers will have to bear a huge loss; making it more difficult for the films to be sold in future as well.

Nepali films have a very limited audience and to make it worse, they have to compete with big budget Hollywood and Bollywood films. As the foreign films have a bigger market, they are able to make good money even though their films get pirated on the very first day, sometimes even before the release of the film. But that is not the case with Nepali films. If an illegal copy of a Nepali film makes it to the internet once, it’s very hard for the film to make any money afterwards.

Does it affect the economy in anyway?

Yes, it does. If there’s no piracy, it will simply mean that the film-makers will earn the money they deserve, which means more movies, which employs dozens of people like actors, crew, electricians, costume designers and countless other occupations. It increases the employment opportunities for more people and that will also add more tax money to help the country. You see, this thing is much bigger than you think.

How can you help stop piracy?

You don’t need to do much, just make sure you don’t promote piracy by sharing such links on social media. If you report the video, that would be a great help. But it would be enough if you just don’t upload any film you might have on a DVD or your computer.

How do you watch Nepali films then?

If you’re in Nepal, the best option is to go watch the film in a theater near you. If you’re abroad, many Nepali films are screened in many countries, so you can just go and catch a show. If you can’t watch it in a theater for some reason, just wait for the film to be officially released online.

What happens if someone gets caught pirating a film?

One of the major reasons you should avoid pirating movies, is because it’s a huge risk for yourself. It might look like fun as you would have a huge number of hits on your YouTube channel if you just upload a film you have on your computer, but it can take you behind the bars and also, you might have to pay a handsome amount as penalty.

Moral of the lesson

Do NOT pirate movies. Do not support piracy in anyway. After decades, our film industry seems to be going somewhere. It’s making a huge progress, let’s just help them grow even more. What do you say?