Producer claims pirated copy of Premam came from Censor Board’s copy

Rasheed moved the police after pirated version of the movie was found uploaded in the cyber world. He had quit from film industry associations in protest against the failure of the associations to support his case against piracy.

Rasheed had stated that the pirated version had the water mark of censor copy. The censor copies had been given to studios in Thiruvananthapuram and Chennai, where post production works of the film were held. Kerala Film Exhibitors Association Liberty Basheer alleged that the movie’s copies were leaked out from the studios owned by film directors Priyadarshan and B Unnikrishnan. He demanded that the directors be questioned.

However, Priyadarshan alleged that the CD of the movie was leaked out from Censor Board office as there was a watermark of censor copy in the pirated version. If the copy was leaked out from the mixing studio, it would have carried the watermark of mixing copy. He also ruled out the chances of the copy going out from dubbing studio on the ground that the pirated version in circulation did not carry the water mark of dubbing copy.

He said Censor Board Chairman Pahlaj Nihalani was apprised of the gravity of the issue, seeking stringent action against those behind the act.

Reacting to the issue, Nihalani told the media in Mumbai that the board viewed the issue very seriously. He said he would go to Thiruvananthapuram to find whether anyone in the Censor board office was involved in it.

Meanwhile, the anti-piracy cell examined Vismaya Entertainment Studio in Thiruvananthapuram where post-production works of the film was done. The police have also decided to question professionals involved in the making of the movie, Premam. Notices would be issued to them to appear before the investigating team, sources said.