Pakistan’s biggest film piracy company, Sadaf Video, is desperate for a clear print of Rang De Basanti and is willing to pay up to Rs 1 crore for it. It is allegedly associated with don Chhota Shakeel as well as D Company.

“Bhai ne bola hai kisi bhi haal mein top ki print laa ke do aur crore rupiya le ke jao,” said Rashid Latif, a dealer based in Pakistan, who works for Sadaf Video.

Hard times for pirates

But its not easy for Sadaf Video to get a copy of the pirated print as the anti-piracy cells in India, especially in Mumbai, are being watchful.

According to a highly-placed source from the piracy world in Pakistan, the price they are willing to pay for the film was announced on the Saturday morning after all attempts to acquire the pirated print of the film failed.

Agent caught

Sadaf Video suffered a huge setback on January 28 morning when the airport pand anti-piracy cell nabbed Nasir Mohammed Aga Khan (29), a piracy thekedar (contract holder) at the domestic airport after he arrived by the 1.48 am Jet Airways flight from New Delhi.

He was caught with the pirated VCD master of Rang de Basanti, which was to be delivered to one Bhurra Aapaa, a trader from Lahore, who comes to Mumbai every fortnight from Pakistan. Bhurra stays in Bhendi Bazaar when she is in the city.

“I was going to deliver the pirated VCD to Bhindi Bazaar, from where it is sent to Pakistan and Bangladesh. I sold the print for Rs 4 lakh,” said Khan.

Racket details

Rajesh (Baba) Bhasin of United copyright protection association (anti piracy cell) told Mid Day, “After Nasir’s arrest, we seized the master copy print of Rang De Basanti, which was to be delivered to Sadaf Video. The film copy was worth Rs 4 lakh, which has now gone up to around Rs 50 lakh to a crore as the film is a hit.”

Baba added, “Nasir told us about the entire piracy racket, which is operational in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. He has revealed four names Amit Chaudhary, Mahesh Chaudhary, Tony and Jitendra. These guys make camera prints from theatres and then despatch them to Sadaf Video in Lahore and Karachi with their agents in Mumbai.

In the next 24 hours, 5,000 to 6,000 VCDs and DVDs are mastered and sent back to India.”

The piracy agents have already offered Rs 1.5 crore for Rakesh Roshan’s forthcoming film Krish.

Crackdown

Meanwhile, T Series is successfully managing to curb the booming piracy industry in Pakistan as they recently started an anti-piracy cell in Pakistan.

“Sadaf Video suffered a loss up to Rs 50 lakh as they could not get a clear print of Zinda and Family,” said M M Satish, president of T-Series performance licence.

Secret code

“We have codes on the prints of the films, which can be traced on the seized VCDs and DVDs. United Television Company, the producers and distributors of Rang De Basanti can then tally these codes and reveal the name of the theatre house where the piracy took place,” said Kalpesh Desai from the Anti-Piracy Cell in Mumbai.

*Source – Mid-day