Piracy hits ‘Bhaimon Da’ after grand release, reigniting perennial industry debate

Guwahati, May 28: Piracy continues to plague the movie industry — from Bollywood and Hollywood to regional cinema. It's a menace that not only bleeds filmmakers dry but also drains the joy from the movie-going experience.

The latest victim of this relentless crisis is Bhaimon Da, the first Assamese biopic on acclaimed filmmaker Munin Barua.

Upon its release, Bhaimon Da was met with critical acclaim. But along with the praise came an all-too-familiar challenge. Just days after its theatrical debut, clips from the film began circulating on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook — secretly recorded inside theatres.

“The movie had just been released when we found pages uploading scene-by-scene clips. We reported the account, and Instagram took it down — but the same clips resurfaced on another page,” said Sasanka Sameer, the film’s director and writer.

He added with frustration, “Just the day before, someone went live on Facebook while watching the movie in a theatre. We reported it to the police, and the person is now in custody.”

Sadly, this isn’t an isolated incident. Several successful Assamese films have faced similar threats post-release. Among them is Sri Raghupati, directed by Suvrat Sarma and starring renowned actor Ravi Sarma.

Clips from Sri Raghupati also made the rounds on social media, while Telegram groups shared links to pirated versions for free.

Ravi Sarma, however, offered a nuanced view of the situation. “Many people who share these videos don’t always have malicious intent. Some genuinely want to promote the film. When we reach out and politely ask them to take the videos down, they usually oblige without resistance.”

However, not everyone is cooperative. “There are people who refuse to delete the clips because they’re motivated by personal gain. In such cases, we have no choice but to contact cybersecurity officials and pursue legal action,” he added.

Offering a unique perspective, Sarma said he personally doesn’t believe piracy significantly affects a film’s box office performance.

“People who go through the effort of dealing with traffic, finding parking, and buying tickets are the ones who truly contribute to the industry. Those who download movies illegally probably wouldn’t have watched them in theatres anyway,” he explained.

Acclaimed writer and director Bhaskar Hazarika views the audience’s desire to watch films—albeit illegally—as a form of flattery. “Frankly speaking, as a filmmaker, it’s heartening when people find ways to watch your movie,” he said.

However, he also noted that piracy most severely impacts producers. “It eats into their earnings and discourages them from investing in future projects. Ironically, it’s the audience who suffers in the end, because fewer films get made. That’s why piracy must be curbed—and the only way to do that is for audiences to support cinema by watching it legally.”

Sarma acknowledged that accessibility remains a genuine issue. “Some people live in remote corners of the state with no nearby theatres. In such cases, piracy becomes their only option. We can’t place all the blame on the audience.”

He also proposed a practical solution - improving accessibility. “The government needs to build more local theatres in remote areas. If people had cinemas nearby, many wouldn’t need to resort to piracy in the first place.”

These diverse perspectives offer valuable insight—piracy is not simply a case of audience gain versus industry loss. Ultimately, it’s the audience that loses the most.

The Assamese film industry is currently experiencing a purple patch, and the people of Assam must ensure that this cinematic sunrise shines far beyond its borders—and not let it set before reaching its full brilliance.

By Nikita Naina Kalita