Nabeel Qureshi, director-screenwriter, has accused the e-commerce platform Daraz of selling pirated versions of his recent film Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad.
As the action-comedy film continues to dominate theaters, sellers on Daraz have been caught selling pirated copies for as little as Rs 20.
“This is criminal! Daraz is selling our film Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad’s pirated version officially on their website, while the film is playing in cinemas across Pakistan. This is damaging the cinema and film industry. It’s alarming. [Production company] Filmwala Pictures is going to take strict action against it,” Qureshi tweeted.
https://twitter.com/nabeelqureshi/status/1560269366834634753
Messages of support began to flood in in response to the tweet, with social media users pointing out that local e-commerce markets have minimal quality controls in place for sellers.
Mahira Khan, who stars in the film alongside Fahad Mustafa, also spoke out on Twitter regarding the blatant theft.
Retweeting Qureshi’s initial tweet regarding the situation, Khan wrote, “Oh my God! This is absolutely ridiculous!” She also tagged the official account for Daraz.
https://twitter.com/TheMahiraKhan/status/1560305233372352512
Daraz has addressed the complaints under the tweets of Qureshi and Khan.
https://twitter.com/darazpk/status/1560374468220002306
People, however, were dissatisfied with their response to the situation, with many claiming that Daraz only discovered the piracy after Qureshi’s tweet gained social media attention.
To read our blog on “Daraz signs on as a digital streaming sponsor for the 2022 Asia Cup in Pakistan,” click here