Salman Khan warns against piracy of his Eid release ‘Radhe’

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan isn’t bothered by the scathing reviews of his new Eid film ‘Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai’, but he seems to be agitated by the scourge of piracy.

“We offered you to watch our film ‘Radhe’ at a reasonable price of INR249 (Dh12) per view. In spite of that pirated sites are streaming ‘Radhe’ illegally which is a serious crime. Cyber cell is taking action against all those illegal pirated sites,” warned Khan on his Twitter. He urged his followers not to participate in the illegal activity and threatened to take strict action against them too.

“Please don’t participate in piracy or the Cyber cell will take action against you as well. Please understand you will get into a lot of trouble with the Cyber cell,” added Khan.

The actor, who plays the titular role in Prabhu Deva-directed entertainer, has been consistently reminding everyone not to indulge in piracy. In the run up to his Eid release, Khan had issued a stern message urging his fans to watch his film through the right channels.

“It takes the hard work of several people to make one film and it hurts a lot when some take the route of piracy to watch the final product. I want a commitment from all of you that you will enjoy films on the right platform. So this Eid we want a commitment from the audience - no piracy in entertainment,” said Khan in a recorded message. The message was also played before the screening of each film to create awareness.

It was the first time in his career that an Eid release led by his star wattage was streaming on a digital platform in India, while it enjoyed a simultaneous theatrical release in the UAE.

In an interview with Gulf News ahead of its release, Khan said the decision to release his film on digital platforms was taken after a lot of deliberation. ‘Radhe’ spells the return of the ‘masala’ genre in Bollywood where you see a star-led film filled with action, romance, comedy, and spectacular song-dance dazzle.

“I enjoy them and fans enjoy them and that’s the reason why we are still making this genre of films here. But masala genre doesn’t mean we are making some random film with no plot or screenplay. There’s a message behind my film and it’s a message that’s relevant at all given times,” said Khan.

While his intentions may have been noble, the movie has generated mixed reviews and the actor has been trolled for his questionable choice of roles. Gulf News gave it two stars out of 5 in its rating.

Despite the largely negative reviews, Khan has set a streaming record by drawing in 4.2 million views on day one of its digital release.

‘Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai’ also stars Disha Patani, Jackie Shroff, and Randeep Hooda. It’s a typical Bollywood potboiler where you have Khan play a rebel cop on a mission to flush out drugs in Mumbai. Hooda plays the menacing villain.