'I am a disco dancer': Anurag Thakur sings his way through anti-piracy Bill; Opposition fumes
Aditi Tandon
New Delhi, July 31
Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on Monday literally sang his way through the anti-film piracy Bill which seeks to criminalise the act of digital piracy, even as the Opposition, sloganeering over Manipur in the Well, fumed.
Injecting lighter moments into a rather serious situation in the Lok Sabha which continued to witness disruptions over Opposition’s demand to discuss Manipur after adjournment of all other businesses, Thakur while piloting the Cinematograph Amendment Bill-2023 recalled instances of soft power of the Indian film industry, the largest in the world by production volume.
The minister sang “I am a disco dancer” and “Jimmy, Jimmy, aaja, aaja”, the supe- hit numbers from Mithun Chakravarty-starrer ‘Disco Dancer’ as he recalled hosting a delegation of youngsters from Central Asian countries.
“When I hosted the delegation of central Asian nation youth few years ago, we arranged a cultural show for them. They later expressed a desire to perform something, and we happily agreed. To my surprise, I found them singing the hit numbers of Mithun Chakravarty’s Disco Dancer which was made when they were not even born. They sang “I am a disco dancer” and “Jimmy, Jimmy”, said the minister singing himself in the House as Opposition alliance MPs flashed placards in the Well demanding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi make a statement on Manipur in the House.
Opposition MPs were at their wits end finding the minister sing away while they exercised their vocal chords for nearly 40 minutes from the start of the piloting of the Bill by Thakur till its passage. Five MPs participated in discussions on the Bill, including actor and BJP MP Manoj Tewari and Marathi actress Navneet Rana.
Thakur didn’t also lose a chance to attack the protesting Opposition which said “no” when the Bill was put to a voice vote.
They are anti-film industry, the minister said.
The Bill criminalises piracy with up to 3 years in jail, up to Rs 3 lakh fine and penalty worth 5 per cent of the production cost of the film that’s pirated.
Thakur said the Bill meets a long-standing demand of the film industry which loses nearly Rs 22,000 crore annually to digital pirates.
The Bill also does away with the requirement of every ten yearly renewal of Censor Board certification and provides that the certification once granted will be for life.
