Dangal leaked on Facebook by Pakistani national within hours of release
A screengrab of the leaked film on Facebook
In a first, a Pakistani national has leaked Aamir Khan-starrer Dangal on Facebook within hours of its release on Friday, December 23.
Piracy is one of the biggest evils that plagues filmmakers in today’s day and age. But despite all their efforts to curb privacy, almost every major film is leaked online within a day or two of its release, resulting in substantial financial losses.
However, unlike most films which are typically leaked on torrents first, Dangal was leaked on social media platform Facebook.
The video was uploaded by a user named ‘Hashmi Ah’ during the wee hours of Saturday. The user, according to his Facebook profile, hails from Islamabad, Pakistan and is currently living Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He works as a importer with Ali Express.
Although the quality of the video is far from clear, it has been viewed by almost 9 lakh people and shared by over 46,000 individuals as of writing this post.
According to one source, the video was reported to Facebook earlier, following which it was pulled down. However, for some strange reason, the video was still available on the social platform on Saturday afternoon.
Fortunately for the filmmakers and cast, the initial response from the audience and critics has been very encouraging and fans are lining up to see it in theaters.
The film, which released across 4000 screens across India, has already managed to collect Rs 29.78 crore on day one, including Rs 59 lakh from its Tamil and Telugu dubbed versions.
With this, it has become the second highest opener of the year behind Salman Khan’s ‘Sultan’, which had grossed Rs 36.59 crore on day one. Dangal was made on a budget of Rs 70 crore.
Helmed by Nitesh Tiwari, the film also stars Sakshi Tanwar and marks the debut of Fatima Sana Sheikh and Sanya Malhotra who play Phogat’s daughter Geeta and Babita.
Editor’s Note: While the ability to sit at home and watch the pirated copy of the film for free might be enticing, we urge you to resist the temptation and watch the film in a movie theater.
