Movies Galore

Talking about pirated CDs ....... and ethics.......on one hand and cheap entertainment on the other hand. While returning from office today, I along with some other colleagues had a glimpse on a roadside vendor, selling CDs...........she must have been sitting there everyday, but we never noticed her, but for this day.

Nothing about special this day, except this was a long day........and next day is a holiday......ganesh chaturthi..........and since mumbai is planning for a festival tomorrow........on streets, so that also meant not going out anywhere. All that boiled down to the fact that we were to be inside our new home.........for next 24 + hours and with no TV (as mentioned in the last post, thanks to the great admin facilities), so without actually saying , we all were looking for some entertainment options..........that's why.........the tird eye saw this vendor........

Well, we took two DVDs........containing 9 new Bollywood movies..........at a dirt cheap rate........and while taking them, we were happy to have found an answer to the boredom.......and this was the only thought that crossed our minds.

As the human nature is, rather than thinking about the good deal we got.........we were getting apprehensive, whether the cheap products would turn out to be a money wasted............while sitting in the train. Such are the intracacies of the complex structure called mind.

However, nothing bad that we thought, actually happened and we got a good pack of 9 new bollywood flicks..........at price less than that of a cup of coffee at Barista.

In all this, never did it crossed our mind.........that we were promoting an illegal trade..........of pirated CD / DVDs..........but on second thought, why is it illegal ? Before dwelling into that.......i had a few points, which i felt strongly about.............

1) The Developmental Side of me : What is the result of this so called piracy business..........the rich producers and distributers, would be making a few lakhs less............and that few lakhs would actually become the income of tens of thousands of poor who make there living on selling such stuff and woudl feed lakhs of mouths at the bottom of the pyramid.

2) The Marketer side of me : What is the value chain of these pirated CD business........if i as a end consumer is getting the product at dirt cheap prices.......margins, production and distribution costs and delivery chain.......must be really efficient to keep the prices low. Now between these and the "original" CD prices, there is a difference of a ton. So, that means, richer is your end customer, higher are the margins for everybody in the value chain.

3) The social side of me : One day back, i saw a police constable slapping a small boy at the same station for putting up his vending space, apparantly without paying him his share of the money to let him sit there. So, when the same police person was allowing the sale of these pirated CDs bang there under his nose........he must be after taking his dues / dakshina.........who should i blame for this "illegal" business...........
Myself ........ for purchasing a cheap source of entertainment
Vendor.......for making a living out of it
Policeman......for allowing vendors on station premises

or

the system...........for creating wealth for the wealthy, rules to help them grow it further nad keeping the poor out of reach from being a part of so called "development."

I am confused..........have I done something unethical.........purchasing a pirated CD or have I helped a poor get his earning...........while entertaining myself.

Does anyone have the answer???