Cinema Terrorism

News Item 1: Tamil Nadu govt threatens to book movie pirates under the Goondas Act
Expectedly, the movie moghuls are all pleased. All this while it was the pirated CD business that deprived them of all the profits they would've raked in if the movie going public went to the movie halls to relsih their celluloid 'masterpieces'!!! They beleive so sincerely.

The m-g public have a different take though: since it costed no more than 20 bucks for the whole family, they were willing to suffer any damn trash our 'creative pioneers' served them. 20 bucks spread over 5 people might induce many to endure the torture (trauma therapy!) but expecting them to pay ten times more for an oppurtunity to tear their hairs is a different matter.

Why dont the powers that be in the movie industry realize that it is good stories, good screenplay, shot cost effectively, that bring in the moolah? Rather the biz plan seems to be good hero, good hero, good hero, paid exorbitantly!

Ok, movie piracy (of the CD kind) has slowed down considerably after the govt move. What of piracy of the artistic kind!! Can any director in Kollywood sincerely claim that there is not a single scene in his movie that has been lifted from another movie in another language? Music, song sequences, stunt sequences.... whole stories have been shamelessly lifted by our 'creative goondas'. What 'act' will these goondas be booked under? Worse still they go on TV beaming at the beauty of their creation. It is an insult to anyone's intellect. But then intellect is something Kollywood divorced long ago. The lament of an American producer comes to mind: "they shamelessly copy our entire movie and then have the gall to apply for US rights!".

News Item 2: Mobs in Karnataka target movie halls screening recently released non-kannada movies
Our bretheren in Karnataka have taken it a step further. For the short term they want to control the choice of movies that you have. I presume their long term approach to solving thier movie industries problem would be to force all people in Karnataka to endure a kannada movie once a week compulsorily! Non-compliers could have the water supply to their homes cut off!