How and where not to use IT

When I have more time, I’d like to dissect this news item – BMTC`s satellite tracking system goes off-track – more closely. For now, I’m reproducing snippets

At a time when navigation toolmakers are busy speaking of the global positioning system (GPS) technology and its future in the Indian market, the state-owned Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has some sour news to share.

It has posted a loss of Rs 1.42 crore after its experiments with the on-line and off-line tracking of buses over GPS failed — a pointer to how the marriage of technology and commerce can go terribly wrong because of a lack of foresight and faulty planning.

The BMTC implemented the off-line vehicle tracking system using GPS in March 1999 in technical collaboration with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) to monitor trip operations of buses hired from private operators and automatically calculating hire charges according to the kilometre covered on a daily basis. GPS units were installed on 200 buses.

But data collection turned out to be a cumbersome process, as it required personnel to physically go to each bus and download the data.

“In the absence of the provision for automatic generation of reports, a large number of staff was required to analyse data and prepare reports, which took two-three days. Such delayed information was far from useful as it was not available on a real-time basis for taking corrective action,” the CAG stated. In 2003, the BMTC decided to scrap the off-line system, resulting in the wastage of Rs 79.50 lakh.

Story continues..

Subsequently, the BMTC switched over to on-line vehicle tracking system designed to track the movement of a bus via satellite through the radio frequency signals from the on-bus transmitter unit. The captured data was to be sent to the control centre using GSM technology at an interval of 10 seconds.

The BMTC issued a letter of intent in February 2004 in favour of Arya Omnitalk Wireless Solutions Limited (AOTWSL), Bangalore, for installing on-line GPS technology on 2,000 buses at the rate of Rs 1,102 per bus per month for a period of five years. But the implementation of technology was easier said than done.

The CAG explained: “The GPS tracking facility was reported to have inherent limitations like a loss of connectivity due to selective availability of satellite constellation; buses not being in the direct and unobstructed line of sight with the satellite as large parts of the travel paths had dense tree covers, flyovers and bridges; between a cluster of high-rise buildings or while buses were parked under a shelter.”

Apart for these, technical problems like jamming of communication lines due to overload and cellular service not being available in the mofussil areas had resulted in disruption in service.

“Tracking data had not been continuos on many occasions and there were many gaps in the trip data,” the CAG said.

Fatuous India-related US consultancy services spending set to cross US$1 BILLION this year. No kidding! I swear it!

In a study that costs US$ 10,000 to read, Access Market International, a consultancy which describes itself as “The Leader in Global SMB Actionable Market Intelligence” and “Go-To-Market Strategy” (huh?) says that “Indian small and medium businesses (SMBs) are on track to spend $1.26 billion on Internet-related products and services this year.”

Snippets from the study from our friendly neighbourhood Hindu Business Line who, I dearly hope, did not waste their good money buying such junk.

The study states that the while the Internet has become “a way of life” for medium businesses, barely 25 per cent of small businesses currently have an Internet connection. However, small businesses are embracing the Internet by “leaps and bounds”.

The study states that the penetration of Internet-enabled small businesses is anticipated to rise by more than four percentage points in the current year.

More than 50 per cent of the SMBs said they were in favour of an improvement in Internet speed. Thirty-seven per cent of the respondents said they would like to opt for a total revamp of their Internet access infrastructure such as replacing or upgrading their Internet access routers. Affordability and availability have increased broadband usage with BSNL/MTNL enjoying an SMB penetration of 44 per cent and 33 per cent, respectively. They are followed by VSNL, Tata Teleservices and Reliance.

The study states that SMBs are also heavily dependent on information sources such as vendor Web sites and search engines for gaining awareness about IT products and services.

So.. people in small and medium business are using google. Who knew. They are in fact, in favour of (and not against) improving internet speed. Hallelujah! This is so stupidly banal, that it MUST be dressed up in a title as fruity as “Go-to-market” strategy.

I think the secret to saying anything in this world and being taken seriously, is to insert mention US$ 1 billion in relation to anything you are talking about. US$ 1 billion is a sufficiently fatly rounded monetary figure that makes it hard to ignore.

Here’s another sterling example of corporate fat-headedness dressed up as market research. The Nielsen Company reports:

“Entertainment-themed websites are the most popular with mobile Internet users in the growing Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) mobile markets,

Entertainment, gaming and music websites rank among the top five categories visited in all four BRIC countries, unlike the mature markets like America and Europe, where information and news draw the most mobile Internet browsing.

Mature markets?! F#@# !! I feel like a disgraced schoolboy sitting here in this godawful immature market that prefers to use the internet for fun.

Sorry if I sound overly contemptuous.. I can’t help picking on wooly-headed ‘corporate research”

Update:
Here’s one from the Assocham assessment on ‘E-governance initiatives’

Releasing the Assocham assessment, its Secretary General D. S. Rawat
said, “A country’s e-readiness measures the current state of its ICT
infrastructure and the degree to which its consumers, businesses and
governments are able to capitalise on Internet-based opportunities. It
determines the degree to which a country is prepared to participate in
the networked world. The States have been rated on parameters: network
access, e-learning, network society, e-governance and network economy”.

BSA Bullshit – How 10% reduction of PC Software piracy in India could lead to additional $200 million tax revenues in US

This is in response to the verbal diarrhea periodically expelled by Microsoft and its Business Software Alliance cohorts suggesting that reducing piracy in India will lead to “Economic Benefits” – including enhanced tax collections to the tune of 200 million USD (now who could say no to that).

Fact is, most big software manufacturers never pay tax in India. Here’s how.
1) Most major software houses’ campuses are located in Software Technology Parks which have been enjoying a 10 year tax holiday since 1999 (extended till 2010). This means that any software that they develop in India and transfer to their parent undertakings abroad are 100% exempt from any taxation. (The normal rate of tax on income from royalty payments is about 10%.)

2) The same finished-software is then resold in India in “shrink wrap” packages. Another tax evasion occurs here. Most shrink-wrapped software that is sold to you, is sold via a chain of extensive distribution agreements instead of directly by the company’s unit in India. You buy Ms Windows from a distributor and not from MS India directly. This is done so that the “permanent establishment” in respect of the software unit sold is the US company and not MS India. By virtue of double taxation avoidance agreements (DTAAs), these companies classify such income as “business income” – taxable in the foreign country – rather than ‘royalties’ that are taxable in India. The implications of this loot are staggeringly high. The recent fight between the CBDT and Microsoft is a case in point where Microsoft has refused to pay income tax to the tune of 700 crore rupees (roughly USD 175 million).(Although the Income Tax Tribunal in this case has insisted that Microsoft is liable to pay the amount, the weight of legal authority seems to suggests that this demand will be overturned in appeal)

So in effect, the current BSA “study” (defying any relation to ‘reality’ that the word might ordinarily indicate) proposes to increase the amount of tax it can loot from India in addition to the USD 175 million that it already does to nearly 375 million through curbs on piracy.

Game’s up BSA^TM. Since I don’t want to doubt your OH-so-genuine concern for my country’s “economic benefits”, howzabout you just pay us the nearly $175 million you’re funnelling away to the US? And we don’t even have to touch piracy. Pay up, or Shut up.

UPDATE: There’s a really good article about this at Rediff.

BSA Bullshit – How 10% reduction of PC Software piracy in India could lead to additional $200 million tax revenues in US

This is in response to the verbal diarrhea periodically expelled by Microsoft and its Business Software Alliance cohorts suggesting that reducing piracy in India will lead to “Economic Benefits” – including enhanced tax collections to the tune of 200 million USD (now who could say no to that).

Fact is, most big software manufacturers never pay tax in India. Here’s how.
1) Most major software houses’ campuses are located in Software Technology Parks which have been enjoying a 10 year tax holiday since 1999 (extended till 2010). This means that any software that they develop in India and transfer to their parent undertakings abroad are 100% exempt from any taxation. (The normal rate of tax on income from royalty payments is about 10%.)

2) The same finished-software is then resold in India in “shrink wrap” packages. Another tax evasion occurs here. Most shrink-wrapped software that is sold to you, is sold via a chain of extensive distribution agreements instead of directly by the company’s unit in India. You buy Ms Windows from a distributor and not from MS India directly. This is done so that the “permanent establishment” in respect of the software unit sold is the US company and not MS India. By virtue of double taxation avoidance agreements (DTAAs), these companies classify such income as “business income” – taxable in the foreign country – rather than ‘royalties’ that are taxable in India. The implications of this loot are staggeringly high. The recent fight between the CBDT and Microsoft is a case in point where Microsoft has refused to pay income tax to the tune of 700 crore rupees (roughly USD 175 million).(Although the Income Tax Tribunal in this case has insisted that Microsoft is liable to pay the amount, the weight of legal authority seems to suggests that this demand will be overturned in appeal)

So in effect, the current BSA “study” (defying any relation to ‘reality’ that the word might ordinarily indicate) proposes to increase the amount of tax it can loot from India in addition to the USD 175 million that it already does to nearly 375 million through curbs on piracy.

Game’s up BSA^TM. Since I don’t want to doubt your OH-so-genuine concern for my country’s “economic benefits”, howzabout you just pay us the nearly $175 million you’re funnelling away to the US? And we don’t even have to touch piracy. Pay up, or Shut up.

UPDATE: There’s a really good article about this at Rediff.

Dot Vs.Blackberry – Round 3 and 4

The Hindu Business Line reports today that “the Department of Telecom has asked telecom operators not to provide certain features offered by Research In Motion’s (RIM) BlackBerry until monitoring systems are put in place.” It is not known what “certain” features are exactly, but “industry sources indicated that e-mails sent from one Blackberry to another Blackberry may be barred.”

Gee.. Emails huh? That’s all? Waittaminute.. isn’t that all one does with a Blackberry!?

Currently, talks are on directly between Research In Motion – owners of the Blackberry technology and the DoT after ‘GSM operators opted out of Blackberry talks‘

At a meeting held last week, RIM requested that it be allowed to discuss its plans to address the security concerns directly with Government authorities instead of going through the mobile operators. Sources said that RIM officials were concerned that since the topic of discussion was sensitive for security purposes, the proceedings of the meeting may be leaked out to the media in case the operators were also involved. While representatives of the various mobile operators were present during the meeting last week, RIM executives and DoT officers met separately in another room.
..

Sources within the GSM camp said that with only 2 lakh Blackberry users, there is no crisis even if the service was banned. They also pointed out that there were many other handset devices available today which provides similar type of services though the security levels may not match up to that of a Blackberry.

So.. what’s the big fuss about again?

DoT Vs. Blackberry – Round 2 – FIGHT!

The DoT on Friday has reportedly given two weeks to Research in Mobile (RIM) – the company that has developed Blackberry – to install servers and requisite equipment in India in order to tap e-mails sent through the service.

This was the message conveyed to the RIM representative in the country at a high level meeting in the department of telecommunications (DoT), which was chaired by the deputy director general (access services).

Officials from the ministry of home and representatives of Airtel, Vodafone, Reliance and Blackberry were also present in the meeting. The deadline for setting up this facility will be decided in a meeting scheduled next week, when high level officials of RIM from Canada will be present.

And also

RIM is currently operating services in 13 countries around the world. The present problem with Blackberry came to limelight when Tata Teleservices was not granted permission to operate the services. The government said that it was not possible to lawfully intercept e-mails sent through Blackberry phones. It is not yet clear how other operators like Reliance, Airtel and Vodafone are operating the services.

It is not clear. Not clear at all. The DoT website does not list any of these three as having obtained a UMS license. Does the ISP license imply a UMS license? Clearly not – since a UMS license requires a licensee to obtain, in addition, an ISP license.

So what happens next?More meetings.

Another meeting with RIM officials has been scheduled next week to discuss the issue further. In today’s meeting only a local sales representative of the company was present. “These are high level technical issues and hence the DoT officials today asked RIM representative to bring senior technical officials from Canada preferably by 2nd or 3rd of April for the next meeting,” said the industry representative.

Karnataka HC to decide whether free software is stifling competition

In a case that has potentially far reaching implications (always wanted to use that phrase – far reaching implications),”some software companies” have filed a petition before the Karnataka High Court challenging its use of the Nudi software font for egovernance purposes. The Government claims that the software is free and the ” best among the softwares available.”. The Companies on the other hand allege that there is no “scientific basis for the State to prefer Nudi over other compatible softwares” and insist that the Government “prescribe uniform standards for bilingual fonts for developing software in Kannada”.

Is there a scientific basis to prefer free software over proprietary alternatives? Hm.

After some scouting around the web, I’ve stumbled upon some history of the dispute. All is not well, it seems, in the Karnataka Font Development industry. I’m going to use internet sources to try to piece together this sordid saga of hope, suspicion, treachery and betrayal that is the Kannada Font.

Two websites are going to be my primary sources: The Government of Karnataka and some vitriol on a site called Ella Kannadaabhimanigala Antharrashtriya Vedike In (Ekavi)

So it turns out, the Karnataka Government mandates the use of a font called ‘Nudi’ for use in all e-governance projects. The Karnataka Government asserts that this is freeware:

The Karnataka Government owned Kannada Script enabling software NUDI, developed by Kannada Ganaka Parishat, is a freeware. Most of the fonts with NUDI can be used for dynamic font embedding purposes. Since the fonts and the software are available free, these can be used in the no font-embedding situation as well. Regarding R&D, it is a continuing activity to move with the changing technological conditions, mainly so with NUDI. As per the requirements, new features will get implemented in NUDI, of course maintaining compatibility with earlier versions. Futher, it is to be noted that enthusiatic and innovative font developers can develop any number of fonts for NUDI engine using standard software like Fontographer, Fontlab, Font creator etc.

Turns out, Nudi was created by copying a software called Baraha – which it turns out, was a rehashed, pirated – murder most foul! – version of a font called Akruthi. According to this rambling invective on Ekavi, this sinister design was apparently executed by an evil genius/tyrant called ‘VASU of BARAHA’ who is ‘PRIMARILY responsible for all the problems KANNADA SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT is facing TODAY’.

VASU has allowed Srinatha Shastry, Narasimha Murthy and Dr. Panditharadhya of Kannada Ganaka Parishat “KGP” to COPY BARAHA Fonts and name it NUDI Fonts and sell NUDI Fonts to Govt. of Karnataka “GoK”. So GoK is using STOLEN PROPERTY and forcing all Departments to use NUDI FONTS. This made other KANNADA SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS to GO OUT of BUSINESS.

Who knew.

NEXT question, we all need to think is,
If BARAHA and NUDI Fonts are being offered FREE like this to KANNADIGAS,
Why BARAHA and NUDI fonts are not in OPEN SOURCE PLATFORM ??? WHY ? WHY ? WHY ? WHY ? WHY ? WHY ?

Oh dear.

Copyright in fonts is untested in India and needs a closer look.In the US, in 1998, a federal district court held in Adobe Systems, Inc. v. Southern Software, Inc that copyright law protects “software programs” that create fonts that are distinct typefaces. But the question of originality can still be raised in the Indian context.The artwork involved in fonts is language itself – not something elaborately conceived independently by the developer. ‘Sweat of brow’ alone is not a determinant of copyrightability in India.

More on this later.

Karnataka – Bangalore

Nudi software: court asks Government if uniform standards can be applied

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday sought to know from the State Government why it could not prescribe uniform standards for bilingual fonts for developing software in Kannada.

The court was dealing with a petition by some software companies that had questioned the rationale of the Government going in for Nudi software for e-governance.

They claimed that Nudi is creating a monopoly and stifling competition. They said there is no scientific basis for the State to prefer Nudi over other compatible softwares.

The Government argued that Nudi was a free software and that it was essentially being used by Government departments. It said it was the best among the softwares available.

An official of the Department of e-governance, who was present in the court, said more developed and sophisticated tools are now available. Justice A.S. Bopanna, who is hearing the petition, asked why it could not formulate a uniform bilingual font. He asked the State to look into the suggestion.

© Copyright 2000 – 2008 The Hindu

DTH interoperability

Article in the Business Standard today about interoperability of DTH receivers.

The interoperability clause in the DTH licensing norms makes it mandatory for all DTH service providers to offer a technically compatible DTH set-top box so that the consumers can easily shift their operator without changing their set-top box.

However, due to difference in technology between Dish TV, Tata Sky (MPEG-2) and the latest technology of new entrants, existing DTH subscribers cannot access the services offered by the new players on their existing DTH boxes.

The TRAI had requested the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to develop standards of interoperability due to a plurality of formats being used by operators.

The BIS has been requested by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), to make recommendations on standards of DTH boxes. A transcoder will cost the new DTH companies about $10-15 (30-40 per cent of the DTH hardware cost).

“A transcoder will help the consumers shift to the DTH services of as many operators as they want. It’s like a mobile consumer shifting from one service provider to another without changing his mobile handset,” said a member of the BIS technical committee.

According to sources, the BIS decided to delegate the responsibility for preparing a detailed paper on interoperability of DTH boxes to its members amid opposition from Tata Sky — Sky opposed this move on the grounds that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) is the deciding body on interoperability and the BIS should not act in the matter till the ministry takes a decision.

While both Dish TV and Tata Sky are using MPEG-2 compression technology, the new DTH entrants are using MPEG-4 technology.

Through MPEG-4 technology, the DTH companies can offer 25 per cent more channels per transponder (a device fitted on the satellite through which DTH transmission takes place) than those using MPEG-2 technology.

DoT examining encryption code compliance?

As a fallout of the Blackberry illegality “controversy”, the DoT has reportedly begun to insist that all ISPs adhere to the prescribed encryption code. For those who didn’t know, Clause 2.2(vi) of the ISP license issued by the DoT mandates that if encryption technology greater that 40 bits is used, the decryption code must be submitted to the Government.

The Licensee shall ensure that Bulk Encryption is not deployed by ISPs. Further, Individuals/ Groups/ Organizations are permitted to use encryption up to 40 bit key length in the symmetric key algorithms or its equivalent in other algorithms without obtaining permission from the Licensor. However, if encryption equipments higher than this limit are to be deployed, individuals/groups/organizations shall obtain prior written permission of the Licensor and deposit the decryption key, split into two parts, with the Licensor.

So under what law does the Central Government get a monopoly over encryption?

Under the Telegraph Act, the Central Government has the “exclusive privilege” of establishing, maintaining and using telegraphs (which is broadly defined to include anything which is capable of sending and
receiving messages electronically).

So do we understand Clause 2.2(vi) as saying that the Central Government licenses the individual to use his lan card (which is a kind of telegraph) for accessing the internet on the condition that the message is not encoded greater than 40 bits?
Under this interpretation, if anyone contravenes this provision, he/she can be proceeded against under section 20A of the Telegraph Act – contravention of conditions of a license..”fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, and with a further fine which may extend to five hundred rupees for every week during which the breach of the condition continues”.

My web browser uses SSL which is a 128 bit technology!

Alternatively, there is the interpretation that suggests that as a third party to the contract, the DoT cannot proceed against me directly. The best it can do is to cancel the license with the ISP and proceed against the functionaries of the ISP.
But if there is no contract between the DoT and me, and DoT maintains that it owns encryption absolutely, I’m still in trouble. This way, I’m “Establishing, maintaining or working unauthorized telegraph” – an offence punishable with a fine which may extend to one thousand rupees.

Unless the DoT relaxes this rule, this is going to be an interesting fight on the lines of the battle over PGP in the US when it first began.

New Delhi/Mumbai March 18: Online banking operations and e-commerce transactions including purchase through credit cards may be open to Government surveillance as a fallout of the recent Blackberry controversy.

The Department of Telecom is now taking steps to ensure that all providers of Internet services strictly follow the prescribed encryption code. As per the existing law, all Internet-based service providers are required to submit a decryption key to the Government if they use more than 40 bit encryption code to secure the transactions.

Encryption codes are essentially a way to scramble information sent online in such a way that only the desired recipient has the key to unscramble it and convert it back to its original form.

However, as it was found out in the Blackberry case, a number of service providers are not strictly following the rule and have not submitted the decryption code. The issue came to light when telecom operators providing Blackberry services told DoT last week that the Government was singling out one service for allegedly violating the encryption laws.

Most of the e-commerce web sites like those selling airline and movie tickets and banking application web sites use more than 128 bit encryption code. The higher code is required to keep the transactions secure. The problem with using higher encryption codes is that the Indian security agencies find it impossible to track any specific transaction unless they have the decryption codes.

However, the Internet Service Providers termed DoT’s policy as archaic and said that they have already requested DoT to raise the permitted levels from 40 bits to at least 128 bits in line with the changing technology. “The existing encryption laws were made when Internet services were just beginning to take shape in the country. It is really unfair to stick to the same standards when technology is enabling more secure transactions and highly complex transactions. If DoT insists on the 40 bit encryption then it will be taking the Internet back to the dark ages,” said Mr Rajesh Chharia, President, Internet Service Providers Association.

Industry experts said that DoT’s policy was not practical on two counts. First, no company will give away its patented codes to leaky Government departments as it could make e-commerce applications unsecure and, therefore, useless. Second, under the existing rules, the procedure for submitting decryption keys, which is in digital form, has not been laid out. So even if anyone was bold enough to give the code to the Government, they would not know how to submit it. “In developed countries like the US there is no limit on the encryption code. Monitoring is done by their security agencies using the most sophisticated technology. DoT should invest in setting up monitoring centres which can do the job without limiting the scope of Internet services,” said Mr Amitabh Singhal of Elxess Consulting Services.

Piracy and Cinema in Orissa

Two contradictory accounts of cinema halls in Orissa have been carried by the Hindu in the last week alone.
On the 14th, the Hindu carried this piece lamenting the decline of cinema halls in Orissa, blaming, mainly, piracy.

Orissa: It’s curtains for many cinema halls

BHUBANESWAR: Unable to cope up with the onslaught of television channels and video piracies, more than 65 cinema halls in Orissa have been closed down while a majority of these are on the verge of adorning new avatars.

Replying to a question, Industry Minister Biswabhusan Harichandan told the State Assembly that as many as 177 cinema halls were running while more than 25 per cent of these could not keep pace with the time.

However, Orissa Cinema Hall Owners’ Association (OCHOA) disputed the figure saying the scenario was worst than being depicted. “Not more than 120 cinema halls are running in Orissa while more than half of it have been shut down,” OCHOA president Bijendra Mohanty said.

There was a time when Ganjam district was cine goers’ paradise, but condition of cinema halls presented a depressing picture. Out of 26 cinema halls, 10 buildings were locked. The first cinema hall of the State, SSVT at Berhampur has long been closed down, though the State government’s paper show that it is running.

Similarly, Jyoti cinema hall of Berhampur, the highest seat capacity hall of the State, has now been converted into a hotel. Moreover, an apartment is coming up in Vijaya Hall complex and Vijay cinema hall has got new address of a marriage mandap in the town.

In Cuttack district, six cinema halls have been shut down.
Shopping malls

As the cinema halls are situated in prominent places, offers are flowing in thick and fast from shopping mall chains to switch over the trade.

Gone are the days when a cinema hall ticket used to be considered as a prize catch for film buffs. The crowds are gradually disappearing.

“Absence of strict laws on video piracies in the State is the single most important reason behind gradual decline of cinema hall culture. In Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, film complexes are doing very good because, as they are strict on piracies,” Mr. Mohanty pointed out.

About eight years ago, a high-level committee was formed to propose a law on video piracies. Even Orissa Film Development Corporation (OFDC) had also updated favouring enactment of law. But the government’s approach on the subject has so far been passive.

The situation has worsened to such an extent that cinema halls see a sizeable crowds only during first two or three days of release of a film. Fearing that number of viewers would come down further if prices of entry tickets were raised, cinema hall owners are sitting helplessly. As a result, they have not been able to take up renovation work for years. “It is a vicious circle. Government must take appropriate step. We are missing quality crowds,” Mr. Mohanty lamented.

Then today, there’s this piece in the Hindu on how ‘Oriya films continue to pull crowds to theatres‘ despite the ‘invasion of pirate CDs’

BERHAMPUR: Oriya films still continue to draw large crowds to ticket counters of film halls. Oriya films guarantee full houses at theatres for at least three weeks despite the invasion of pirated VCDs and DVDs, say the workers of film halls in the city.

Earlier Oriya films used to be released coinciding with the festive seasons. But now producers and distributors of Oriya films are daring to release their movies even during March, which happens to be the examination season. Oriya film ‘Mote Ta Love Hela Re’ has been released this week. And it is running packed houses and people could be seen vying with one another to get tickets at a theatre in the city where it was released.

A large chunk of the audience of Oriya films is women. Even film halls prefer to have reruns of Oriya films at their theatres before releasing a new Oriya film.

Some Oriya films draw more crowd for continuous weeks than several Hindi blockbusters. For rural audience and traditional Oriya women Oriya movies are better attraction than Hindi or English movies. Groups from villages hire vehicles to have a trip to Berhampur to watch Oriya movies.

According to an ardent cinema fan Saroj Mohapatra, Oriya films strive on rural public and lower middle class audience.

The Oriya films that are remakes of Hindi or Telugu movies draw crowd for their masala histrionics rather than good Oriya films that receive critical acclaim, said Mr Mohapatra. Recently critically acclaimed Oriya movie ‘Kathantara’ was released in the city but it could run for only a week.

So.. what exactly is going on here?