Only if the pandemic wasn’t enough to bring the Pakistani film industry to a halt, there is another problem lurking on the internet.
First battling the foreign films premiering at the same time, Pakistani filmmakers now have to fight piracy. The recent incident of a pirated version of Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad directed by Nabeel Qureshi being illegally sold on Daraz is of great concern for the industry.
Qureshi shared a screenshot of the on-sale film captioned, “This is criminal! Daraz is selling our film Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad’s pirated version officially on their website while the film is playing in cinemas across Pakistan. This is damaging the cinema and film industry, it’s alarming.”
This is criminal ! @darazpk is selling our film #quaideazamzindabad pirated version Officially on their website, while the film is playing in cinemas across pakistan, this is damaging the cinema and film industry, its alarming @FilmwalaP going to take strict action against it. pic.twitter.com/8RMMYLCtH1
— Nabeel Qureshi (@nabeelqureshi) August 18, 2022
Daraz replied to the tweet from its official account to clarify its stance and said it was “allegedly” uploaded by a seller. “[It] has been removed from the platform as soon as our compliance team picked it up. Daraz, in any way does not support plagiarism and any such violations.”
Hi Nabeel! This was allegedly uploaded by a seller and has been removed from the platform as soon as our compliance team picked it up. Daraz, in any way does not support plagiarism and any such violations.
— Daraz (@darazpk) August 18, 2022
Lead actress in the film, Mahira Khan, retweeted Qureshi’s tweet and called it “ridiculous”, tagging Daraz.
Oh my GOD! This is absolutely ridiculous!! @darazpk !! https://t.co/IHEKC1Oyfj
— Mahira Khan (@TheMahiraKhan) August 18, 2022
Pakistani Filmmaker Fizza Ali Meerza also commented on the issue saying legal action should be taken.
We don’t make films worth millions of rupees to sell them @darazpk
Shame on people who support piracy and buy pirated films.
We must set an example for future safety.. will take legal action against #daraz.pk https://t.co/5pazHYXe1H— Fizza Ali Meerza (@fizza999) August 18, 2022
It is quite surprising to witness Daraz committing a violation of Pakistan’s piracy laws. For the unversed, Daraz is owned by AliExpress, making it equally involved in this case.
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https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/06-Jul-2022/mahira-khan-fahad-mustafa-dance-their-hearts-out-as-they-promote-quaid-e-azam-zindabad
