The government has given clearance on Wednesday to the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2021. According to the bill, more categories for film certification will be introduced, and stricter penal provisions to prevent film piracy will be applied.
Indulging in camcording movies in theaters will be treated as a criminal offense and imprisonment ranging from three months to three years and a fine of at least Rs 3,00,000, which may extend to a sum of up to 5 percent of the audited gross production cost of the film will be levied.
So if someone is caught camcording a film like, say, Adipurush (budget 600 crores), he might have to pay a penalty amounting up to 30 crores (5%).
According to the bill, the new film certification categories will include “U” or Universal, U/A 7+, U/A 13+, and U/A 16+, besides an ‘A’ rating for content restricted to adults.
The entertainment industry in India loses up to 20,000 crores of revenue annually due to digital piracy done by websites like Tamilrockers. We still don’t believe that piracy will be completely finished after the introduction of this bill, but let’s hope it puts some kind of check on these pirates and save some crores for our makers.
