The beast of video virulence
Film promos, songs and censored bold scenes — all have gone viral on the internet much to the distress of Bollywood. Jackie Shroff's expletive-ridden video clips floating in the cyber space, however, took things too far
Deepa Ranade

Remember how young Neil Nitin Mukesh foamed at his mouth when his Sudhir Mishra-directed yet-to-release venture Tera Kya Hoga Johnny was suddenly made freely available on the net? He even went on to accuse his director of foul play (2011).

And then, Hrithik Roshan felt equally cheated when the promos of Kites were leaked on the net. Hell broke loose in the Filmkraft office (2009).

As Ra.One Akon song "Chhammak challo" made an unauthorised net appearance, Shah Rukh Khan admitted that he was "totally depressed"(2010).

Kalki’s hot scenes from The Girl in Yellow Boots leaked online (2009).

A.R. Rahman’s Rockstar music leaked online (2011).

The last few years have been trying for film folks with these illegal uploads. Ad man Prahlad Kakkar, in an interview, had rightly put it as, "The viral phenomenon is a free beast by nature. The content is viral because it takes on a life of its own. Then, it is not in the creators’ hands what happens to it."

Indeed, his prophesy rings so true as Jackie Shroff’s footage using profane language like ‘ma ki aankh’ went viral on the internet recently. Unedited, NG (not good) shots from Pulse Polio promotion film shot way back in 1998 in Bengaluru puts Shroff in a tight spot.

Struggling to deliver chaste Hindi dialogue, after umpteen re-takes Shroff in sheer frustration blurts out choicest "ma -behen" abuses. In the Marathi version of the same promo film, he ends up using an unheard of ‘maushichi g***d’ expletive, which has gained unprecedented notoriety with the netizens. This unauthorised 14-year-old footage has appeared out of the blue and gone viral.

Jackie dismisses the embarrassing episode in good humour in a recent interview saying, "Sabka ek expression hota hai na? Like some say ‘hadd teri ki’, I say ‘mauschi chi’!" Evidently, the actor is not getting hot under his collar over the viral video as he continues in lighter vein, "I am always amused when people get a good laugh out of me. It’s good that they are enjoying."

However, this amusement may play havoc with the self-esteem, reputation and the career of persons involved. Even today, award-winning film editor Akiv Ali shudders to recall the "illegal leakage" of Kites promo, "The technology makes it so easy to pilfer a clip and upload it on the net that I am really wary about hiring new assistants these days. I make sure that the confidentiality clause is very tight in all the contracts I make for new recruits."

This unsavory exercise is the basest form of betrayal, "As it is, people are prejudiced against film folks, and such things unnecessarily add to the burden. I have seen the said video and Jackie has only worked off his stress through the commonly used abuses. He’s not being offensive to anybody, so I wonder what the brouhaha is about," he shrugs.

Anurag Kulkarni, CEO, SA Digital, a mobile content production outfit providing ringtones to all 23 service providers in India, elaborates, "Such clips are categorised as user-generated-content-sharing, and unfortunately, it’s too easy to upload these as this is done anonymously," he reasons.

Assailed by a feeling of outrage, Kulkarni continues, "This is the most unfortunate event mounting to gross breach of privacy, trust and professional decorum. Although Jackie is caught off-guard, in a casual mood, one can’t help feeling that there has to be dignity in informality. Perhaps, this will be a lesson for all stars and celebrities."

Sadly Shroff has to face the brunt of this prank. "I feel stars pay a heavy price for their stardom already and such encroachment on the privacy of an industry senior only angers me. Really film folks are always being made scapegoats," he lashes out defensively.

On the other hand, the same platform of internet uploads has been gainfully employed by Bollywood. Producer Vashu Bhagnani released his film F.A.L.T.U. on the net, Ekta Kapoor showed the naughty promos of Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum barred from being shown in theatres and TV on the net, she said, "But I want to show the real promo to everyone, so that’s going online! I will create as much buzz as I can for the film because I can’t fight the law, I can work around it."

Pooja Bhatt wrote on Twitter about promoting Jism 2 songs with adult content on internet, "We have six songs in Jism 2. Only three cater to a universal audience without losing their essence. The other three cannot be made to seem asexual. Hence, we will only submit to the censor board and plug on TV those songs of Jism 2 what we feel is appropriate for a family audience."

The biggest success story of viral video most certainly was Dhanush’s Tamil song "Why this Kolaveri Di" with more than 3.5 million internet views. The heartbreak ‘soup song’ transcended not only the language barrier but also geographical boundaries. Even the Japanese youth were gyrating to "Why this…Kolaveri Di."

Whether the film fraternity uses the internet for its gain or for insider treachery is entirely left to them. Bollywood must wake up to the advantages as well as the hazards of this double-edged sword. And handle it with care.

Shah Rukh Khan was upset when the song 'Chhammak Challo' from Ra.One got leaked on the Net  Kalki's hot scenes from The Girl in Yellow Boots were leaked online The promos of Kites were leaked on the internet before the official publicity began

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