Cons-piracy: Online leak of film ‘Manjhi’ creates stir

Radhika Apte laments over incident and asks viewers to watch the film on the big screen

MUMBAI: Ketan Mehta’s Manjhi – The Mountain Man was leaked online more than 10 days before its release and lead actor Radhika Apte isn’t happy about it. “It’s extremely saddening. And whatever possible measures are to be taken, are being taken care of. I feel it’s an extremely inspiring story and a big film just like a mountain,” she said at a press interaction when asked for her reaction to the incident.

She gave advice for the audiences, saying, “Please go to the theatre and watch it. If you want to stop piracy, you should definitely watch it on the big screen. And I’m confident that when people would watch it on the small screen, they’ll feel that the film is such that it’s meant to be watched on the big screen only.”

The film was available on a platform where pirated versions of films generally arrive the day of the film’s release. And several times, certain films are claimed to have been leaked, but they turn out to be a hoax. This time, however, users were surprised to find the film in best quality and without any cuts or blurs, which are generally associated with a pirated version.

There were reports of several big films, such as Salman Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan, being leaked online before their release. But that didn’t affect the prospects of the films, as they turned out to be big hits at the box-office. Manjhi – The Mountain Man stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui playing the titular character, inspired by real-life ‘Mountain Man’ Dashrath Manjhi. 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 16^th, 2015.

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