Thousands of members of the Malayalam film industry, including superstars like Mammootty and Mohanlal, marched to the state secretariat Wednesday in appreciation of the government's steps against piracy.

Almost all the associations in the Malluwood cinema made active representations in the march, which was the first of its kind in recent times.

The front row of the march was led by ace directors of Malluwod like Vinayan, Shaji Kailas , Fazil and Sibi Malayil. Top actors like Suresh Gopi, Jayaram, Sreenivasan, Padmapriya, Mamta, Sukumari etc participated in the march and asked the authorities continue the anti piracy drive.

They were joined by over 2,000 members of various film industry associations, representing producers, distributors and technicians. The chief minister who addressed the rally reassured the film fraternity that the government will continue with the steps taken against piracy.

Mammootty, Mohanlal, Madhu, Raju Mathew and Suresh Gopi spoke in the rally and appreciated the measures taken by the government.

The police who had made enough arrangements to control the masses found it a tough time controlling fans gathered near the secretariat to catch a glimpse of their favorite film stars.

Slogans were raised in praise of Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan for acting tough against video libraries distributing pirated CDs.

"This has certainly brought the crowds back to the theatres and we want this clampdown to continue." responded Suresh Gopi who actively participated in the march.