S.S. Rajamouli, served the web site a legal notice.

It is like a Bruce Lee chop on Indian filmdom’s vulnerable neck. Websites based in Beijing, Chaoyang and other cities in China are uploading fresh Indian movies including Telugu films within a few hours of their release in India.

Latest Tollywood flicks such as Vedam, Jummandi Nadam, Yamudu, Em Pillo Em Pillodo, Alladistha, Bheemili Kabaddi Jattu, and Panchakashari are available for free download on sites such as www.youku.com, www.soku.com and www.video.baidu. com.

Likewise, Hindi movies such as Raavan, Once Upon a Time in Mumbai, Tere Bin Laden, Milenge Milenge, and Rajneeti can be downloaded from www.baidu. com and new Tamil attractions such as Thillalangadi, Aananthapurathu Veedu and Singam Virunthali are all over Chinese sites.

Indian sites such as bharatmovies.com are also posting these films citing the Chinese websites as source and are offering them for free. Most of the movies have been uploaded by Youku, which is ranked the number one video site in China.

Maryada Ramanna, which hit the screens recently, was also posted on youku.com but was removed after the director, S.S. Rajamouli, served the site a legal notice.

“I have four teams which are constantly browsing the Internet to trace free download links for my movie,” he said. “I succeeded in deleting 83 links after serving them legal notices.” Rajamouli believes that some persons in India must be helping the Chinese websites to get the video files.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010