Piracy Begins To Spell Havoc For Major Pakistani Releases

A new epidemic has emerged, as if difficulties such as COVID-19, a small number of screens, and poor ticket sales weren’t enough for the local film business. Two major Eid releases, London Nahi Jaunga and Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad, both quite well made pictures with respectable box office receipts, gave the fledgling film industry a small boost. But it appears that the films also face a problem with piracy, a much-maligned practice that affects the global film and entertainment industries.

The crew at Galaxy Lollywood noticed a few days ago that Daraz, the largest online retailer in Pakistan, was selling the pirated version of LNJ.

The video, which required a substantial budget and a great deal of blood and sweat to produce during the difficult COVID-19 pandemic, was being sold for a pitiful sum under the guise of a “Azadi Sale,” which only served to exacerbate the already unpleasant situation.

A day after this discovery, Nabeel Qureshi, the director of Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad, sent a voicemail and screenshots to Galaxy Lollywood, citing similar flagrant violations of Pakistan’s anti-piracy laws, whereby pirated and subpar copies of the movie were being sold under the guise of Azadi Sale.

The website of the retail behemoth has sold a tonne of copies of both flicks, as the comments section makes clear. Furthermore, it is astonishing that a platform this large would break Pakistan’s anti-piracy legislation in such an obvious and clear manner.

It is important to note that Alibaba, the multinational conglomerate worth billions of dollars, owns Daraz, meaning that Alibaba is also complicit in this crime. Galaxy Lollywood attempted to get in touch with the Daraz officials, but they did not respond. However, Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad’s producer, Fizza Ali Meerza, has notified Galaxy Lollywood that legal action will be taken in this instance.

Filmmakers’ annoyance and indignation are understandable and appropriate under this circumstance. Piracy is a blatantly illegal activity that is synonymous with any sort of property theft. It is criminal to say the least when films that are already showing in theatres are taken with their subpar rips and sold illegally on internet e-commerce platforms. This should be noted by the relevant authorities so that such actions are not encouraged in the future.

Comments

comments