Technology comes handy for actor to curb piracy

Chennai: Technology came in handy for Tamil actor and filmmaker Radhakrishnan Parthiban to nail a film exhibitor who allegedly produced pirated versions of his latest directorial `Kathai Thirakkathai Vasanam Iyakkam`, now running in cinemas. "Markers embedded invisibly in the original digital movie source and forensic watermarks helped us to decipher that my movie was pirated in a movie hall near Coimbatore," Parthiban said.

Following this, legal action has been initiated against the film exhibitor besides action through the film distributors council, he said. "Technologies like Cube and USO helps the industry today a lot. We detected my movie`s source of piracy through the Cube technology." When the actor alongwith his assistants went to the Burma Buzaar area here, infamous for pirated DVDs, he was stunned to find tens of hundreds of DVDs of his movie that released two weeks back and now running in 150 screens in Tamil Nadu. "I spoke with the Burma Buzaar traders and explained the pains of film producers and how the illegal trade kills film industry," he said. "Now, I am not going to stop. I will go ahead and claim damages and compensation of Rs 15 crore," he said, adding, piracy was "confining" film viewers to their homes. Parthiban said he will initiate action seeking damages from the owners of the movie hall who allegedly produced pirated versions. Actor, director and film maker Parthiban is known for his unique and unconventional style of story telling among Tamil film goers."Markers embedded invisibly in the original digital movie source and forensic watermarks helped us to decipher that my movie was pirated in a movie hall near Coimbatore," Parthiban said. Following this, legal action has been initiated against the film exhibitor besides action through the film distributors council, he said. "Technologies like Cube and USO helps the industry today a lot. We detected my movie`s source of piracy through the Cube technology." When the actor alongwith his assistants went to the Burma Buzaar area here, infamous for pirated DVDs, he was stunned to find tens of hundreds of DVDs of his movie that released two weeks back and now running in 150 screens in Tamil Nadu. "I spoke with the Burma Buzaar traders and explained the pains of film producers and how the illegal trade kills film industry," he said. "Now, I am not going to stop. I will go ahead and claim damages and compensation of Rs 15 crore," he said, adding, piracy was "confining" film viewers to their homes. Parthiban said he will initiate action seeking damages from the owners of the movie hall who allegedly produced pirated versions. Actor, director and film maker Parthiban is known for his unique and unconventional style of story telling among Tamil film goers.