Madhur Bhandarkar, Raza Murad welcome Modi govt's announcement of single-window clearance and anti-piracy lawMar 1 (AZINS) Indian filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar and Bollywood veteran actor Raza Murad hailed the central government's announcement of 'single-window clearance' for Indian filmmakers to shoot their films - a provision that was earlier available only to international filmmakers.

The two also welcomed the Centre's move to initiate anti-piracy law. Bhandarkar told ANI that both the initiatives are very necessary for the film industry. "First is piracy which has been affecting the film business a lot. A movie releases on Friday and Saturday a pirated version of it releases on the internet. There are pirated DVDs which are being sold in the market. So this provision is very good," he said.

"We thank the Modi government for both the initiatives. Secondly, single window clearance was much-needed because we had to go to several places to take permissions for shooting. This is not there in abroad, there we used to go to one place and get the clearance. It is quite tough here as we have to go to several places to get clearances and to take permissions from three-four authorities. It was very vital and necessary," he added.

Echoing similar sentiments, Murad in an interview with ANI said, "We welcome the initiatives of single window- clearance and anti-piracy law. I am not a politician; whatever thing is right has to be applauded. Since we are a part of the film industry, we are concerned about that only. The one-window policy is a good thing. The producers go through a lot of issues to get permissions. They have to go to police stations, municipal corporations, apply in ministries. One-window will not only save time and energy but also save money."

"It is also a very good initiative by the government, but it is very important for it to get implemented. Because old governments have also condemned piracy and given us assurance that they will take strong steps against piracy, but nothing happened. Piracy should be taken very seriously and strong actions should be taken against it. Government also loses on a lot of revenue that they can get but don't get due to piracy," he added.

"Strict laws should be made and implemented against people who leak pirated versions of films online. This is completely anti-national," he added.Notably, the single-window clearance is a trade facilitation idea that enabled international traders to submit regulatory documents at a single location and a single entity. The single-window clearance increases efficiency through time and cost savings for the filmmakers in dealing with government authorities for obtaining relevant clearance before starting with any shoot.