The homepage featured posters of newly added movies sorted by date. Because the original domain was frequently blocked by the Indian government (Department of Telecommunications), the site used mirror links (e.g., tamilgun.icu, tamilgun.bar, tamilgun.vip).
Accessing or downloading movies from TamilGun is a violation of copyright law in most jurisdictions. In India, the Copyright Act, 1957, and the Cinematograph Act, 1952 (amended in 2019 and 2021), prohibit unauthorized duplication and distribution of films. Offenders can face imprisonment (up to 3 years) and fines. Moreover, the Delhi High Court has issued dynamic injunctions requiring ISPs to block piracy websites. Despite this, many users continue to visit TamilGun due to lack of awareness or disregard for the law.
Ethically, piracy robs filmmakers, actors, technicians, and distributors of their rightful earnings. A film is the product of hundreds of people working long hours. When a movie is pirated, especially a new 2021 release, it directly reduces box office collections and legitimate streaming revenue. This is particularly damaging for small and medium-budget films that rely heavily on first-weekend earnings.
Fortunately, by 2021, several affordable and legal platforms emerged for Tamil cinema. These include:
Many of these platforms offer free trials or low-cost monthly plans, making piracy unnecessary.
A common tactic was a pop-up saying, "Your phone is infected with 5 viruses. Click here to clean." Unwary users would enter personal data or install fake antivirus software that was actually spyware.
