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Kraazy Logic: In B'wood, Copy Right is the Right to Copy
Comment:
Your post on the culture of plagiarizing in Bollywood is extremely interesting and pertinent in an era where the Hindi film industry is growing in reach and stature and is refusing to acknowledge international copyright laws. I completely agree with your statement that as "Bollywood's market is expanding across the globe, the chances of being caught become relatively higher". More importantly however, if Indian cinema is attempting to build a reputation and brand for itself, it is essential that future films live up to the ethical and legal standards followed by media industries the world over. Furthermore, Misra's quote that "80% of what Hollywood produces are remakes that have been done with due authorization" is integral in pointing out that being inspired by myriad sources is an indispensable practice in any creative process and that Bollywood is not necessarily less original, but merely less cautious with respect to legal proceedings than Hollywood.
I do however disagree with the fact that the "increasing pressure on the creators to come up with original ideas" is the cause of this lax attitude towards copyright infringements. Due to the unprofessional nature of the industry prior to the recent wave of corporatization, relations within the field were based on personal interactions. Therefore, to avoid any conflict between the tightly-knit film fraternity, copyright issues were overlooked. Even today, while Bollywood has certainly come a long way from family run companies to global corporations, the role of the producer is not as clearly defined as it is in Hollywood. In India, a producer is the head of the production company and oversees all the films in progress, whereas a Hollywood producer manages one of the studio's many films and plays a key role in conceptualizing and developing a story rather than merely seeing an already established script or treatment through production. I respectfully disagree with the fact that "the malaise of copyright and plagiarism are here to stay" as I feel that with the further evolution of Bollywood's business models and the increased accountability and individual attention given to upcoming films by producers, Indian cinema might finally tap into the indigenous talent pool more effectively and focus on story, innovation and creativity. Rather than seeing the emerging, highly competitive industry as compelling artists to come up with products on a tight time constraint and recycle the narratives of already established box office successes, I believe that it is this very environment that will facilitate increased capital and attention spent on the research and development of screenplays. The suing of Rakesh Roshan for copyright infringements regarding Krazzy 4's music will hopefully set an example by drawing attention to the problems and repercussions of continuing plagiarism within the industry.
Plagiarism in the Hindi Film Industry
Comment:
Thank you for your informative post on the problematic issues of copying in Bollywood today, and I applaud you for attempting to start a productive discussion regarding this topic instead of merely stating past instances of such lifting. You raise an important question as to why "we don't see many members of the film industry criticizing this practice". With decelerations like "Yes I copy " from Ram Gopal Varma and similar attitudes from well-known professionals, I think garnering respect for and a
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2 comments:
TRS thank you for an insightful and informative post about a little known (at least by me) but highly engaging topic. First I would like to praise you on the visual design and layout of your blog, it is both pleasing to the eye and never calls excessive attention to itself. Additionally your biography is well written and you Feed Items and Linkroll are original and pertinent. As for your post about plagiarism in Bollywood, I think you covered a really interesting topic. The rampant plagiarism is something that I knew very little about (frankly Bollywood is something that I know very little about) but I think that your post is informative and well-researched as well as impassioned. Both of the blogs you found to comment on, while perhaps a bit atypical, both seem to be reputable and high quality. The comments that you left are engaging without being combative, they are researched without being esoteric, they are both very strong. One thing that your post could have benefited from is to go into detail about the social and cultural problems inherent in this issue; your comments are mostly focused on the legal issue. Knowing so little about the Bollywood film industry I was left curious about whether the people that watch these films are aware that the plagiarism is going on. And if they are aware do they mind? You really do a very complete job of summarizing the legal aspects of the issue, it left me wanting more about the social and cultural aspects. For example, when my friends and I go see a movie that we know is a remake of something we are usually less forgiving in our opinions of it. Overall this is a really wonderful post. It is well-written and relevant, it is not mainstream but pertinent, and you really challenged the authors of the posts to discourse without ever being argumentative. Really strong job.
@TRS
thank you for your constructive comments and suggestions. Your optimism is very heartening.
Yes, I agree with you totally on Indian Film writers not getting their dues. As it is, the creative writing is a very demanding and often lonely process. These writers need to be encouraged more. Hopefully we'll have more Jaideep Sahnis...Anurag Kashyaps... ...Kukunoors...Salim-Javeds...
Regarding producers being held responsible: yes they are also the part of the process and product and hence accountable for the plagiarism in it. But whether they are the the ultimate culprit or not I don't know. I am not sure about that, partly because I don't have the intricate knowledge and understanding of the process of film making and how much influence a producer can wield.
There is a very gray area in this whole issue and that is legal aspects of it and in particular the copyright laws. More I think about it more I get uncertain about it. They can be very tricky to deal with at times. The rigidity of these laws might end up suffocating the process of creativity.
I think ethical and moral awareness is one of the best way to deal with it. Please refer to comments 55 and 56 of this article. Bottom line is, Pritam keeps churning out one plagiarized song after another because it sells and people don't care whether it is original or not.
If we, the audience, start condemning and rejecting the plagiarized content then this producers, directors, music composers etc will have to change. After all we are the consumers. We need to breed the culture where in originality is respected and appreciated and plagiarism is condemned.
PS: I have posted this response in the comments section of my PFC article but it seems PFC website is having some technical issues with comments and hence I am posting it here.
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