Actor Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt’s film Gully Boy opened well at the box office on Thursday and managed to earn Rs 18.7 crore on Valentine’s Day. However, the film has fallen prey to piracy soon after its release. Gully Boy leaked on piracy website Tamil Rockers on its first day and is available for free download.

According to film trade analyst Taran Adarsh, the film opened at Rs 18.70 crore. It is expected to show growth during the extended weekend. Directed by Zoya Akhtar, the film revolves around the story of a slum dweller Murad (Ranveer) who aspires to become a rapper. Alia plays his hot-headed girlfriend in the film who is a medical student. The film delves deep into the hip-hop culture of India and is inspired by the lives of rappers Divine and Naezy.

#GullyBoy takes a massive start... #ValentineDay - not an official holiday - has given a big boost... Metros are rocking, contribute to superb total... Thu ₹ 18.70 cr [3350 screens]. India biz.

— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) February 15, 2019

Alia’s earlier film Udta Punjab, also featuring Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor and Diljit Dosanjh, had leaked before its release. It earned about Rs 60 crore at the box office in total.

Just a few days ago, members of the Film Federation of India (FFI) urged the government to pay attention to issues like piracy ailing the film industry and sought creation of special courts to solve such cases. The Madras High Court has already put a ban on 12000 websites to stop piracy.

Also read: Valentine’s Day 2019: Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt dine together on ‘aphrodisiacs, lots of love’, see pic

Talking about the menace of piracy, IFFI’s vice-president Ramesh Tekwani had told IANS, “The government decision of including an anti-camcording provision in the Cinematography Act to control piracy will need serious implementation.” He had added, “Announcement is fine but people should be stopped from recording films by asking them to deposit their phones before entering theatres. One single phone can shoot the entire film. People also know different ways to record the film.”

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First Published: Feb 15, 2019 13:44 IST