BOMBAY Movie theaters in the western Indian state of Maharashtra will close their doors Wednesday to demand tougher action against video pirates and cable television networks, officials said.

"Around 1,200 theaters in the state will be shut for the day. The government is not doing enough to curb movie copyright violation," Shankar Narayan, secretary of the Cinematograph Exhibitors Association told AFP in the state capital Bombay.

The city is also known as "Bollywood," in tribute to its position as India's movie hub.

Narayan said theater owners and movie exhibitors had been hit hard by cable television networks broadcasting new films.

"Just as a new film is released in the theaters, cable networks show them without the consent of the copyright owners. This is illegal but it goes on almost unchecked."

Narayan said illegal broadcasting of movies by cable television networks had affected box office takings by more than 20 percent.

"This has been going on for the past three or four years. We have repeatedly told the government to enforce the law, but we have received nothing other than assurances.

"Sometimes the police conduct one or two raids. But for every one violator who is booked more than a hundred go unchecked. Our trade is being strangled."

Theater owners had closed their doors for a day in 1998 on the same set of demands.

"Nothing has improved since then," said Udharam Thadani of the Theater Owners Association.

"In fact the situation is getting worse due to the competition between the cable television networks.

"We want the cable television business to be regulated just as our trade is," he said.