Video piracy of Bollywood Diwali releases-- 'Garam Masala', 'Kyon Ki' and 'Shaadi No 1'-- has resulted in the producers of these films incurring losses of Rs 30 crores.

''The producers of the three films have suffered a loss of Rs. 10 crore each due to the pirated VCDs of the films making their way into the market the very next day,'' film distributor and promoter Vikas Mohan and filmmaker Vasu Bhagnani told.

The piracy came to light after the distributors of the John Abraham Akshay Kumar-starrer "Garam Masala", released on November 2, found VCDs of the film selling in Mumbai's grey market the very next day.

However, unfortunately for the pirators, the print of the movie contained a unique 'secret code' embedded in each legal print of the film which enables the filmmaker to determine the source of the piracy, i.e, the print from which the pirated VCD has been made.

Lab tests confirmed that it was the same print that was sent to a multiplex in Ghaziabad.

By that time, however, the damage had been done. Pirated copies had reached almost all parts of India.

According to the filmmakers, this is third incident in recent months of piracy of a new Bollywood film in Ghaziabad and thus the coding on each print was deliberately done to confirm the source of piracy.

According to Mohan and Bhagnani, the incident is a major setback to the film fraternity, coming as it does around Diwali, which is considered a bountiful period for new releases.

The producers have lodged a complaint with the I & B Ministry and the Commissioner of Delhi Police and await action in this regard.