Ram Gopal Varma targets Aibomma supporters on piracy debate
Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma, in a post, suggested viewing pirated content as a crime. After the arrest of Imadhi Ravi, the alleged operator of the IBomma site, the Telugu film industry and the police have intensified efforts against piracy.
The Telugu film industry’s fight against piracy reached a turning point when the Hyderabad Police arrested Immadhi Ravi, the alleged operator of the IBomma piracy platform. The action came after an extended investigation into repeated leaks of major Telugu releases, which leaders say has caused a significant financial blow. Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma criticized those who defended Ravi and rejected attempts to portray him as a hero.
“Theft will never stop. Not because the technology is too advanced or the police system is too weak, but because as long as there are a large number of people to watch pirated films, Ravi will always be there to serve them.” He wrote, ”First of all, Robin Hood is not a hero. By today’s definitions, he is the world’s first recorded terrorist. He robs and kills those who have so that he can give to those who have not, and the only crime of the rich is that they are rich. Imagine how evil someone is to think that being financially successful is a crime punishable by theft and murder. “It takes a lot of ignorance to canonize a criminal because the recipients are getting stolen goods for free,” he said.
Verma acknowledged that industry members have also sometimes used pirated content “to save time”. He suggested a controversial solution: “If anyone is serious about stopping piracy, there is only one real solution: in addition to criminalizing the supplier, they should also criminalize the audience,” he said. “Because it is difficult to catch a pirate because he hides behind a secret digital ghetto. But it is easy to catch the audience. Arrest 100 random people watching pirated content and publicize their names. Suddenly everyone will realize that watching or forwarding movie links is equivalent to smuggling or receiving stolen goods.”
Along with his criticism, Verma also offered a Controversial solution to stop piracy. He said, “If anyone is serious about stopping piracy, there is only one real solution: in addition to criminalizing the supplier, they should also criminalize the audience.” He further added, “Because it is difficult to catch a pirate because he is hiding behind a secret digital ghetto. But it is easy to catch the audience. Arrest 100 random people watching pirated content and publicize their names. Suddenly, everyone will realize that watching or forwarding movie links is equivalent to smuggling or receiving stolen goods.
Apart from Varma, Chiranjeevi addressed the media and highlighted the ongoing impact of piracy. He said, “This person has caused considerable damage to the film industry through unauthorized distribution of hundreds of films.” He elaborated on how Dil Raju’s notable films like Game Changer, Kingdom, Thundel and Ozzy suffered severe losses at the box office. Chiranjeevi also said, “Rajamouli is about to make such a big film now. He wants to take Telugu cinema to the global level. At a time like this, piracy remains such a big hurdle. I must thank the police for understanding our issues and arresting him.”
Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan also welcomed the development. “Arresting the operators of IBomma and Bappam and shutting down these major piracy websites is a welcome step,” he posted on Twitter.
Hyderabad Police arrested five other persons in connection with the case. Ashwini Kumar of Bihar, Cyril Infant Raj of Tamil Nadu, Jan Kiran Kumar of Hyderabad, Sudhakaran and Arsalan Ahmed of Erode are accused in this case.