The
copyright
issue
has
been
something
that
has
been
creating
a
furore
within
the
film
industry
for
a
while
now,
so
much
so
that
several
members
of
the
film
fraternity
had
a
high
profile
meeting
with
senior
leaders
of
the
Congress
and
the
UPA
Government
in
Delhi
yesterday.
Among
the
political
bigwigs
who
attended
this
meeting
were
Congress
General
Secretary
-
Shri
Ahmed
Patel,
Hon'ble
I&B
Minister
-
Mrs
Ambika
Soni
&
Hon'ble
HRD
Minister-
Shri
Kapil
Sibal.
The
meeting
was
held
to
discuss
many
of
the
long
pending
grievances
of
the
Film
Industry
such
as
Copyright
amendment
bill,
heavy
and
multiple
tax
burden
on
the
film
sector,
statutory
radio
licensing
and
royalty
issues
etc.
The
meeting
seems
to
have
ended
on
a
positive
note.
The
senior
Congress/UPA
leaders
have
appreciated
the
seriousness
of
the
copyright
amendment
act
if
implemented
in
the
current
form
and
the
various
other
concerns
shared
by
the
members
of
the
film
industry.
The
Congress/UPA
leaders
have
assured
the
members
of
the
film
industry
that
Justice
will
be
done
and
no
arbitrary
decisions
will
be
taken
by
the
government,
which
can
jeopardise
the
industry.
The
Government
is
committed
to
the
principles
of
justice
rather
than
personalities.
The
film
industry
and
the
UPA
leaders
have
agreed
to
find
a
solution
to
these
issues
at
the
earliest
and
continue
to
have
a
dialogue
on
an
on-going
basis.
Meanwhile,
The
Film
Federation
of
India
(representing
production,
distribution
and
exhibition
sectors
and
the
representatives
of
the
various
film
Industry
bodies),
who
were
initially
supposed
to
declare
an
All
India
Bandh
on
6th
January
2010,
have
now
decided
to
defer
the
bandh
indefinitely.
This
Bandh
was
planned
to
protest
against
the
anti-industry
attitude
of
the
government;
however,
after
Tuesday's
meeting
with
senior
Congress
/
UPA
leaders,
things
seemed
to
have
arrived
at
a
consensus.
This
decision
was
taken
at
a
press
conference
held
by
the
members
of
the
film
fraternity
yesterday
in
Mumbai.
Present
at
the
press
conference
today
in
Mumbai
were
Mukesh
Bhatt,
Ramesh
Sippy,
T.P
Agarwal
(President
of
Film
Federation
of
India),
Dinesh
Chaturvedi
(Vice
President
of
Film
Federation
of
India)
and
Ashok
Pandit.
Said
Mukesh
Bhatt,
"The
industry
has
been
facing
various
issues,
like
copyright
issue,
heavy
taxation
among
other
things,
which
has
brought
the
industry
to
a
paralytic
stage.
However,
yesterday
we
had
a
very
important
meeting
with
senior
leaders
of
the
Congress
and
the
UPA
Government,
including
Congress
General
Secretary
-
Ahmed
Patel,
I&B
minister
Ambika
Soni
and
HRD
Minister
Kapil
Sibal,
we
got
a
very
positive
response.
In
fact
they
greeted
us
with
a
very
positive
statement
'this
government
is
committed
to
the
principles
of
justice
and
not
personalities.'"
Adds
Mukesh
Bhatt
"We
have
also
been
instructed
to
engage
with
the
authors
and
composers
and
look
for
a
reasonable
outcome,
which
is
practical,
without
jeopardising
our
business.
And
the
government
has
assured
us
that
both
the
sides
will
be
heard
fairly,
and
only
then
will
the
law
be
implemented.
Therefore
we
have
decided
that
the
bandh,
which
was
to
be
enforced
pan
India,
has
now
been
postponed,
as
we
have
been
delighted
with
positive
response.
The
bandh
was
to
protest
against
the
behaviour
of
the
government,
towards
the
producers.
However,
in
the
light
of
this
positive
response,
it
has
opened
the
door
for
a
fair
approach,
so
we
have
unanimously
decided
to
postpone
the
bandh,
the
bandh
is
postponed
till
all
our
legitimate
demands
are
met
with.
We
are
not
here
to
fight,
but
our
sustenance
is
threatened
and
therefore
we
want
to
have
a
positive
word
with
the
composers
and
find
a
fair
solution."
Said
Ramesh
Sippy,
"We
were
informed
of
the
law,
which
would
take
away
our
rights.
I'm
sure
if
Javed
Sa'ab
was
fighting
for
something,
it
must
be
for
something
unjust,
but
the
Government
escalated
the
matter
without
consulting
with
us,
and
therefore
our
voice
remained
unheard.
Therefore,
before
yesterday's
meeting
we
had
a
sentiment
of
there
being
no
other
way
out.
However,
now
we
feel
the
government
is
open
to
taking
in
account
our
point
of
view,
and
we
are
very
happy
that
they
are
seeking
justice
for
both
sides,
and
not
just
passing
a
one-sided
law.
We
are
hopeful
of
sitting
down
and
resolving
this
issue."
When
questioned
whether
they
were
open
to
discussion
with
Javed
Akhtar,
T.P
Agarwal
said,
"We
have
never
banned
Javed
Sa'ab,
we
had
simply
advised
producers
to
not
sign
him
till
this
matter
is
not
resolved.
But
he
is
one
of
us,
and
has
always
been,
so
we
will
of
course
discuss
the
situation
with
him."
Well,
the
tide
seems
to
be
changing,
with
ban
scheduled
for
6th
January
cancelled,
and
with
a
resolve
on
the
producers'
part
to
find
a
solution
suitable
to
both
sides.
The
issue
between
the
producers
and
composers
is
now
poised
at
a
crucial
point.