Plagiarism in film business going unpunished: Orissa High Court quashes 2019 State Film Award list, terms it an embarrassment

The Orissa High Court recently struck a chord of anguish over plagiarism in the film business going unpunished while setting aside the Odisha State Film Awards list of 2019 [Bobby Islam v. State of Odisha and ors.]..Justice Dr. SK Panigrahi concluded that the award list was fraught with blatant irregularities and that the authorities were negligent in preparing the same. The judge, after a personal viewing, found that two films were heavily copied from Korean and Punjabi cinema."The manner in which the impugned films were considered and declared the winners of the prestigious Odia State Cine Awards is a matter of great embarrassment and concern for the Odia cinema and artiste community," the Court said..While many people are "inspired by the creations or ideas of others", the judge opined that the "obvious copying of concepts, as in this case, gives a terrible perception of the art community as a whole." Criticising such trends, the judge further observed:"There seems to be a running trend of reproducing an already existing works to mint quick money. This thirst of quick fame and money might be beneficial for an individual but it throws the integrity of the art to the wolves.".The Court also urged that film-watching audiences should not be taken for granted. "After watching a movie, the crowd searches the internet to validate their concerns because they are essentially convinced that no film produced in Odia can be original. This is even more worrisome because it represents a significant decline in audience appreciation and sensitivity for the arts. This perception can spell disaster for the Odia cine industry," the Court stated..The Court proceeded to raise concern that there is no strong legal regime in place to keep a check on such instances of plagiarism. There should be strict system of checks and balances to encourage originality in Odia cine tradition, the judge said, while adding that even the film-business should develop a self-regulatory framework to tackle plagiarism and punish guilty creators. "Plagiarism in the film business is made to go unpunished, and unregulated by the heedlessness and lack of standards against such practices. In fact, due to lack of regulation and significant costs of litigation, the majority of dissatisfied creators choose not to pursue legal action", the Court said, referring to the current state of affairs. .The Court also reminded the jurors tasked with assessing the merit of films for cine awards that they have a sacred duty and that they should carry out their duty with due regard to the integrity of the law and the arts. The jury should remember that they are not depositaries of arbitrary power, but judges with the responsibility to uphold the integrity of themselves as well as the institution, the Court added. "The irregularities as seen in this case could easily have been avoided had the jury been a little more vigilant and mindful of their position of great responsibility," the Court said..The Court was dealing with a plea moved by film director, Bobby Islam, who had challenged the 2019 Odisha State Film Award list. Islam was aggrieved over the non-inclusion of his feature film, Chhabirani, in the award lists. Further, he also alleged bias on the part of a jury member and asserted there were several irregularities in the final list prepared. Notably, he highlighted that two films selected by the jury, "Khusi" and "Golmal Love" were not original content, as required under the rules to be eligible for the award. The same also amounted to copyright infringement, the petitioner contended. The Court, in turn, agreed that both films were heavily inspired from non-Odia films i.e. the Korean film titled "Hope" and a Punjabi film titled "Carry on Jatta.""These films have been manipulated slightly in order evade the scanner of an uncanny resemblance. Otherwise, the films are scene-by-scene copies of the impugned non-Odia films. The content of the impugned films cannot be called ‘original’ in respect to Orissa Film Award Rules from any angle of judgement," the Court said.In countering the plea, the authorities concerned had told the Court that Chhabirani was not selected in view of it containing sexually explicit, disturbing, and violent content that could have created a furore if an award were to be granted for it. An allegation was also made by the authorities that the second half of the movie was a copy of the Hindi film Andha Kanoon. This apart, the authorities stood by the award list under challenge and denied the allegations of plagiarism levelled by the petitioner.However, having found that the list was riddled with irregularities, the Court proceeded to quash the 2019 list and directed that a fresh list be prepared. The Court added that the final list should be declared within a month. "... impugned award list shall be trashed and a fresh list of nomination shall be published keeping in rules that govern the procedure. The impugned movies i.e. “KHUSI” and “GOLMAL LOVE” shall not be considered for any award category in the fresh list... this Court directs that the 31st Odisha State Film Award, 2019 shall be declared within one month from today", the judgment stated. .Advocate BS Sahoo appeared for Bobby Islam, whereas Additional Standing Counsel, SN Das appeared for the opposite parties. .[Read Judgment]