BackTen Indian films leaked online
From 'Maanjhi: The Mountain Man' to 'Mohalla Assi', here are ten films whose copies were available on the Web before or soon after theatrical release
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New Delhi: Controversial movie Udta Punjab opened to collections of 33.80 crore last weekend. Apart from censor trouble, the film was also in the news for being leaked online days before release. Here are 10 other films whose copies were available on the Web before or soon after theatrical release.
Manjhi- The Mountain Man (2015): The Nawazuddin Siddiqui-starrer directed by Ketan Mehta was leaked online about 10 days before release. Based on the life of Bihari labourer Dashrath Manjhi, who single-handedly carved a road through a mountain, the film made ₹ 12 crore at the box office.
Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015): A censor copy of the Salman Khan blockbuster was leaked online though it remained widely unreported. However, that hardly affected the Kabir Khan film which collected more than ₹ 320 crore at the box office.
Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! (2015): The climax of director Dibakar Banerjee’s whodunit thriller was leaked a couple of days before release. Starring Sushant Singh Rajput, the film ultimately managed collections of ₹ 27 crore.
Premam (2015): The censor copy of the Malayalam romantic comedy directed by Alphonse Putharen was leaked though the accused resigned from the Thiruvanathapuram office of the Central Board of Film Certification after the issue became a state-wide controversy. The film is one of the highest grossers in Kerala, having made more than ₹ 50 crore.
Papnasam (2015): Pirated copies of the Kamal Hassan-starrer directed by Jeethu Joseph were found uploaded on some websites within two days of release. A Tamil remake of the Malayalam film Drishyam, it crossed ₹ 100 crore at the box office.
Unfreedom (2014): Director Raj Amit Kumar’s drama on religion and sexuality wasn’t permitted a theatrical release in India. Explicit footage featuring lead actor Preeti Gupta was, however, leaked online.
Paa (2009): The comedy drama directed by R. Balki starred Amitabh Bachchan in the lead role as a child afflicted with a rare genetic condition called progeria that causes him to age unnaturally. Despite a copy of the film being leaked on the day of release, it made more than ₹ 30 crore in box office collections.
Tera Kya Hoga Johnny (2008): The Sudhir Mishra film featuring Neil Nitin Mukesh and Soha Ali Khan was set to release in 2008 but got delayed after portions were leaked online during post-production. It was ultimately released in 2010.
Paanch (2003): Anurag Kashyap’s crime thriller never got a theatrical or home video release. After censor trouble, the film starring Kay Kay Menon and Tejaswini Kolhapure faced financial issues. A preview copy was leaked online in 2010.
Mohalla Assi: The satirical film starring Sunny Deol directed by Chandraprakash Dwivedi is yet to hit the screen but was leaked online last year.
All figures have been sourced from movie website Bollywood Hungama.
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