Kazaa: 'Hooray for Bollywood'

Sharman Networks, makers of the popular Kazaa peer-to-peer software, is to sell a feature-length Bollywood movie through its service.

The Bollywood thriller Supari will be offered for sale at $2.99 a pop after a deal was struck between Sharman Networks partner Altnet Networks, a peer-to-peer content provider, and Bollywood film maker Aum Creates.

The movie was promoted through Kazaa prior to its release in India. According to the film's director, Padam Kumar, P2P is a suitable way of distributing a low budget feature to a wide audience.

Kumar said in a statement: "Kazaa has already managed to create widespread awareness for Supari. Selling the full movie is a logical next step, and with a relatively low budget movie, it is a very cost effective way to reach the masses."

Sharman Networks chief executive, Nikki Hemming, said the very nature of P2P technology makes mass distribution of large files, such as movies, feasible.

"The Bollywood movie market is growing at twice the rate of Hollywood, in terms of production and revenue," said Hemming in a statement. "Selling large, high quality files online, such as feature films, at low cost to a massive audience across the globe quite simply cannot be done efficiently using traditional websites."