User:Zhanzhao/Bollywood

Reliable sources for me to use:

• book sources on plagiarism
• book sources on copying
• Times of India
• The Hindu
• The Hindu

Plagiarism

Constrained by rushed production schedules and small budgets, certain Bollywood writers and musicians have been known to resort to plagiarism. They copy ideas, plot lines, tunes or riffs from sources close at hand from other Indian films or far away (Hollywood and other Western movies, Western pop hits). This has lead to significant criticism towards the film industry.

In past times, this could be done with impunity. Copyright enforcement was lax in India. The Bollywood film industry was not widely known to non-Indian audiences (excluding the Soviet states), who would not even be aware that their material was being copied. Audiences may also not have been aware of the plagiarism since many audiences in India were unfamiliar with foreign films and music.

While copyright enforcement in India is still somewhat lenient, Bollywood and other film industries are much more aware of each other now and Indian audiences are more familiar with foreign movies and music. Flagrant plagiarism may have diminished—however, there is no general agreement that it has.