• Bengali/Hindi video and audio CDs cost between Rs 35 and Rs 60, depending on demand and date of release of the movie. These are copies made from the ‘masterprint’ CD • The ‘Masterprint’ CD costs Rs 200. This is from the first batch of copies made from an original CD, or recorded from cinema halls • Blue films, both foreign and Indian, are readily available, priced between Rs 40 and Rs 120, depending on quality

Pirated versions of films like Krishna Cottage (released on Friday) and Main Hoon Na (to be released this week) have already reached the city’s video parlours and are being let out to customers. Ditto blue film compact discs (CDs). All thanks to the dexterity of criminals engaged in video piracy.

Flouting copyright laws without batting an eyelid and scoffing at the efforts of enforcement agents to curb piracy in the city, centrally-located Chandni Chowk has become the piracy hub of Calcutta, supplying not only individual music and movie enthusiasts but also video parlour-keepers across the city.

While officers of the Enforcement Branch (EB) and the directorate of revenue intelligence (DRI) zero in on shops and stalls after being tipped off, the vendors of pirated CDs have hit upon an ingenious way to sell their wares.

Carrying their stock of spurious audio and video CDs in the boot of two-wheelers parked along Chandni Approach, which connects Madan Street with Chandni Chowk market, the vendors, mostly teenagers, are discreet in their approach.

One comes up and mutters under his breath: “CD chahiye kya?” (Want to buy a CD?).

If the prospective customer does, the young vendor takes him aside and shows him his stock of pirated CDs. If the customer wants a specific film that the vendor is not carrying, like a blue film, a quick venture into the labyrinthine lanes of Chandni Chowk reveals contraband CDs emerging out of diverse hiding places — from the insides of amplifiers and battery boxes to the undersides of chairs.

“We have to keep moving all the time to avoid getting caught,” explained Humayun Khan, 16, a vendor of pirated CDs.

“If there is a raid, we can make a quick getaway on our motorcycles. Since the stocks we carry are small, it is easy to move with them,” Khan said. “Our main clients are ‘wholesalers’ and video parlour-keepers. Retail trade is slower, but there is no dearth of custom.”

The popularity of the pirated CD is attributed to the easy availability of VCD players. “You can buy a player for as little as Rs 2,000 here,” Khan boasted. “People don’t want to queue up and buy expensive tickets at movie halls any more. That is reserved for outings with companions. But films are popular, and after television, our CDs are the cheapest source of entertainment,” he pointed out.

Catering to the demand is easy, too. Anyone equipped with a computer and a CD-writer can make copies from the original audio and video CDs. Sneaking a camcorder into a cinema hall after bribing the staff poses little risk, and movies that have just been released are recorded and then copied on to VCDs.