Sangeeta Ahir's anti- piracy drive

Sangeeta Ahir, wife of NCP President, MLA Sachin Ahir and producer of the recent release Apne, and Vaah Life Ho To Aisi, is actively fighting the menace of piracy plaguing the industry. The politician-turned-producer is leaving no stone unturned to nab pirates.

In fact, due to her diligent efforts, not even one copy of her film Apne has been pirated. Even earlier, when her film Vaah Life Ho To Aisi was released, she had a task force in place to fight this menace.

Seeing her persistence, the Hindi film industry representatives approached her to take the issue to the Assembly. She led the crusade against piracy straight to the Assembly where this issue was addressed.

Sangeeta Ahir, Pahlaj Nihlani, Ramesh Taurani, Anil Sharma, Rahul Sugandh, and all other delegates representing the film industry visited the Assembly. Sachin Ahir raised the issue of piracy of audio and video, due to which not only the film industry but also the state government is losing crores of rupees in revenue.

Sachin Ahir even brought to the notice that the pirated CDs, which are found on the very next day of the release of the film, are available very cheap at Rs 5 for a CD, whereas crores of rupees are invested in making a film.

There was a plea to give the film industry an industry status as crores of rupees are generated here as revenue for the state in the form of taxes. There is a need to secure the industry from piracy.

On the whole issue, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, RR Patil, has reacted very positively and promised that within a month’s time a new law will be imposed and piracy will be a non-bailable crime.

Says Sangeeta Ahir, "Piracy is a criminal offence. It is a serious crime and results in huge losses for the industry. The pirates are not only damaging the industry, which is growing but are not paying taxes too, which affects the country and society. It is an ethical and aesthetical issue as well. The intellectual property rights are being hijacked by the pirates."

"The industry is losing hard earned money. We have got a positive response from the assembly and we will not stop fighting against this menace till it is sorted out," she added.