Malayalam film stars march against piracy

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 24 (IANS) Thousands of members of the Malayalam film industry, including superstars like Mammootty and Mohanlal, marched to the state secretariat Wednesday in appreciation of the government's crackdown against piracy.

Top actors Suresh Gopi, Jayaram and Dileep, apart from several actresses, participated in the march and asked that authorities continue the drive. They were joined by over 2,000 members of various film industry associations, representing producers, distributors and technicians.

They shouted slogans in praise of Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan for acting tough against video libraries distributing pirated CDs.

Said Gopi: "This has certainly brought the crowds back to the theatres and we want this clampdown to continue."

The police had a tough time controlling fans gathered near the secretariat to catch a glimpse of their favourite film stars.

Taking action against film piracy has been a long-standing demand of the Malayalam film fraternity. The Achuthanandan government gave a green signal to the police to check piracy in December.

Since then, nearly 30,000 video libraries have been closed down.