- Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Ramayana movie illegally leaked on Facebook.
- Leaked by ‘Narendra Bharti’ profile; garnered 231k views.
- Movie piracy constitutes a serious criminal offense in India.
- Violators face imprisonment, substantial fines under Indian law.
Ramayana Full Movie Leaked: Ramayana: Part 1, the Ranbir Kapoor-starrer epic that’s relentlessly minting crores at the box office ever since its November 5 release, has become the latest movie to fall victim to piracy. The entire movie has been leaked on Facebook, uploaded on a profile named Narendra Bharti.
The uploader’s bio claims that Bharti is a ‘digital creator’ based out of Jodhpur. While ABP Live could verify that the Ramayana movie is available on his profile in its entirety, the veracity of the profile could not be determined.
Ramayana has a runtime of 3 hours and 15 minutes. However, the leaked version of Ramayana on Facebook has a runtime of nearly 3 hours and 3 minutes. At the time of writing, the leaked version has garnered 231k views.
In case you were wondering, the quality of the video is atrociously subpar, marked by blurry visuals and noisy sound. But what is perhaps more important that this leak is nothing short of a grievous criminal offence in India.
Movie Piracy Is A Serious Criminal Offence In India
Watching or sharing pirated movies online may seem like a harmless shortcut to free entertainment, but copyright violations can carry serious legal consequences in India. The country’s anti-piracy framework is primarily governed by the Copyright Act, 1957, and the Cinematograph (Amendment) Act, 2023, which introduced stricter provisions to tackle unauthorised recording and distribution of films.
From recording movies inside cinema halls to uploading pirated copies on websites and messaging platforms, several activities can attract criminal action. Depending on the nature of the offence, those involved could face imprisonment and substantial financial penalties.
Under Sections 63 and 63A of the Copyright Act, 1957, knowingly infringing copyright or helping someone else violate copyright can invite imprisonment ranging from six months to three years.
The prescribed financial penalty can range from Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh. The law also provides for enhanced punishment in cases involving repeat offences.
The provisions are relevant to activities such as distributing unauthorised copies of films, uploading copyrighted content without permission and facilitating its circulation through digital channels.
The Act also addresses the circumvention of technological protection measures. Under Section 65A, knowingly bypassing digital rights management (DRM) protections used to safeguard copyrighted content can attract imprisonment of up to two years, along with a fine.
The Cinematograph (Amendment) Act, 2023, introduced specific provisions to tackle film piracy, particularly unauthorised recording and transmission of movies.
Sections 6AA and 7 prohibit recording or attempting to record a film in a cinema hall without the author’s written permission. Unauthorised exhibition or transmission of such recordings is also prohibited.
Violations can attract imprisonment of at least three months, which may extend to three years. The financial penalty starts at Rs 3 lakh and can go up to 5 per cent of the audited gross production cost of the film.
The provisions are aimed at curbing practices such as cam-recording films during theatrical screenings and subsequently circulating those recordings online. Such copies can cause significant commercial losses to filmmakers and distributors, particularly when they emerge shortly after a film’s theatrical release.
ABP Live does not endorse piracy of any kind, and urges viewers to consume any form of art via official avenues, such as theatres or OTTs in the case of movies.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: abplive.com
