Bhawana Somaaya

One had anticipated that this would happen and it has. The suggested amendment to India’s copyright has started a revolution.

To support what can become a serious issue that would affect all publishers / authors should certain drafted amendments to India’s copyright act be endorsed in the present form, leading publishers in India and overseas have initiated a signatory campaign to protest the proceedings.

It all started when film lyricists and music directors proposed changes in the bill. This led to a proposed new clause in Section 2(m) which stipulates that ‘a copy of a work published in any country outside India with the permission of the author of the work and imported from that country into India shall not be deemed to be an infringing copy’.

This Proviso would mean that books published in any country could be freely made available and sold in India—regardless of whether the publishers of these editions have Indian rights—without the action amounting to infringement of copyright.

For example, this would mean that English-language editions published in the UK or in the USA of a book where an Indian publisher has contracted the rights for the Indian territory could be legally imported into India, undermining the investment that Indian publishers have made in promoting their authors, and of course devaluing the perception of authors in India.

There are cases where separate, lower-priced editions of books published by Indian publishers are also published by different publishers in Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and other neighboring countries. These too could be legally sold into India should the amendment go through as drafted.

The amendment puts Indian publishers and their authors at a serious disadvantage (it would not be legal for Indian editions without specific contractual territorial copyright, for instance, to be sold in the USA, UK, Pakistan or any other country) and would undermine the very fabric of publishing in India, endangering the significant investment that is being made into this sector.

Maybe this is not the intention of the amendments in which case I strongly recommend that they reconsider the wording of the legislation carefully, so that it does not conflict with the intended and wished for territoriality of authors’ contracts with their Indian publisher.

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Bhopal is getting ready for Bhaskar Women of The Year Awards. Conducted by Ernst & Young the judging process is in three phases. First the contestant is reviewed on defined parameters by a panel of internal editorial jury. Next, they go through the scanner of a city jury and finally come personal interviews in four specified categories judged by a grand jury in this case comprising journalist and author Mrinal Pande, IAS officer, ex-Chief Secretary of the undivided Madhya Pradesh state Nirmala Buch and me. I leave for the jury meet tomorrow to Bhopal. More when I get back.

Bhawana Somaaya
www.bhawanasomaaya.com

Dust has settled on Aamir Khan v/s Javed Akhtar or rather the star power v/s word power controversy as well. To recap details for those who don’t know the entire story: For sometime now the writers have been meeting over amendment in copyright issue. A press conference was called sometime ago in Delhi and Bombay to announce the progress on the subject. A joint committee was formed to discuss the film industry’s concerns about the amendment to the Copyright Act 1957 and on December 24 the Union Cabinet approved changes that will entitle authors of musical, cinematographic and literary works to royalty if their work is used for commercial purposes like ring tones, internet down loads or aired on radio channels which is not so at present. Music directors and a lyricists are paid on a one time basis and don’t earn anything from reruns or multimedia.

In the very first meeting of producers and writers committee, Aamir Khan representing producers had a row with Akhtar on the importance of the writer to a film and resigned from the committee after writing a letter to HRD Minister Kapil Sibal. Later Aamir was under pressure to reconsider his decision by the minister and the committee and Aamir accepted to resume his seat. According to me there is no conflict in anyone on the importance of the writer to a film. In my mind there is no confusion that the writer is entitled to copyright to his creation but the issue is not as simple as it seems.

There is a section that believes that while the amendment is for the betterment of the fraternity, it will in all practical purposes benefit nobody. There is a possibility that if the bill is passed it will harm both the producers and the writer’s community. So far the producer has not been paying for any reruns of any multi media to the writer. Once he does he will have little or no savings. There are strong chances that to stay away from the problem, he will become writer himself or hire debut writers who will not ask for copyrights as a result a lot of existing writers may go out of work.

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I attended a spectacular music and dance extravaganza at Iskcon titled Shri Krishna Sharnamama on the love story of Radha Krishna. Produced and presented by Hiren Parpani the maker of Sathvaro Radhe Shyamno the concert is a feast to the eye comprising over a dozen expert dancers in lavish costumes gyrating energetically to vibrant music. The play has been shrouded in controversies for sometime after the choreographer parted ways with the troupe and launched an identical show with a similar title to confuse the audience which is not only unprofessional but also unethical.

It is an issue of copyright and Hiren Parpani could have broken down after the betrayal. Instead he fights a moral battle and has comes up with a revived show in Hindi which is more contemporary and packaged with better production values. The commentary in between the dances is still lengthy but unavoidable because the dancers need that much time to change into varied costumes. Barring that little snag Shri Krishna Sharnamama is a modern concept devoid of traditional trappings like an elaborate set or live music. Six magnificent statues of deities stand ahead of a peacock backdrop which much later you discover are not statues but real people! The anchor explains that the artistes are able to accomplish it after years of spiritual discipline and meditation.

The stage sparkles with twinkling lights and transports you into another planet. There is a heavenly feeling as the songs travel you to Mathura and Vrindavan in the world of Radha and Meera. The climax is simply unforgettable because while most Krishna ballets conclude on a maharaas, Pirani’s finale portrays the dasha avtaar which is to be seen to be believed..! Shri Krishna Sharnamama is not to be missed by all Krishna lovers and even those who don’t believe in Krishna but want to enjoy a colorful entertaining evening. As audience we must support the deserving and that’s what even Krishna says in the Bhagvat Gita.