Adlabs promises action over theft of '...Raashee?' print

Adlabs Processing Thursday pledged to take action against employees responsible for leaking the master print of forthcoming Bollywood movie "What's Your Raashee?"

Amit Khanna, head of Reliance Big Entertainment which owns the lab, said this in response to legal notices of Rs.50 crore each slapped on his firm and UFO Moviez for allegedly abetting the theft of the master print.

"We would like to reassure the film fraternity and the law enforcement agency that we have the most stringent security measures in place. In fact Adlabs is the only laboratory in India which is recognised by FACT (Federation Against Copyright Theft), UK.

"We shall take all appropriate legal actions against any person or persons in the organisation found guilty of any lapse or misconduct. Piracy is eating away a substantial chunk of the legitimate revenues of the entertainment industry, and Reliance ADA Group stands committed to fight this evil," Khanna said in a statement.

Co-producer of "What's Your Raashee?", UTV has alleged that the master print went missing days before the movie's scheduled release Sep 25. UTV has urged the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association (IMPPA) to intervene.

The business development manager of Adlabs Processing, Durgadas Bhakta, was arrested in Mumbai for allegedly stealing and selling the master print. Bhakta allegedly sold it for Rs.200,000 to movie pirates.

“We welcome the steps taken by the Mumbai Police led by Joint Commissioner Rakesh Maria to nab the culprits involved in the piracy racket. Reliance BIG Entertainment and Adlabs are committed to root out this evil. We ... will continue to support all efforts by the government and the industry in this regard," added Khanna.

Directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, the film stars Priyanka Chopra and Hurman Baweja.

Last updated on Sep 24^th, 2009 at 15:11 pm IST--IANS