‘I Cannot Change History’

Just a month ahead of his pan-India mythological epic Kannappa hits theatres, actor Vishnu Manchu is facing an unprecedented crisis. A hard disk containing footage from the film was allegedly stolen from his production house, 24 Frames Factory, in Hyderabad’s Film Nagar, with the finger pointing disturbingly close to home.

Speaking to DC, Vishnu broke his silence on the theft. He alleged that two persons working for his brother Manoj had received a courier containing the stolen hard disk.

“Our film Kannappa is a massive, grand-scale production,” Vishnu explained. “The graphics work is underway across the globe, including in London, Dubai, and eight different locations within India.” Describing their standard security protocol, he said, “We make two copies of footage. One goes to the editing studio, the other to our production office.”

Giving details, he added, “Some footage was sent from a company on a hard drive to our GST-registered address [his father Mohan Babu’s residence where all official correspondence arrives.] However, our team hadn’t requested this drive at that time. Two people who were at Manoj’s house received the courier. We were completely unaware.”

Continuing the saga, he said, “About two weeks later, a post appeared on X asking, ‘How would it be if Kannappa’s scenes were leaked?’ That’s how we realised our drive had changed hands.”

When attempts to arrive at an amicable solution failed, Vishnu said he was forced to file an FIR. Vishnu claims the reason for the rift in the family remains a mystery to him. “Till date, I don’t understand what my younger brother’s problem is or why he’s behaving this way. If I knew, I would certainly try to address it.”

Beyond the theft controversy

The Censor Board has questioned scenes in the sneak peek, showing Kannappa using water from his mouth to anoint the Linga. “I told them I cannot change history. It is there in the temple,” Vishnu said. The Board hasn’t cleared it yet.

The Board has also questioned the film’s romantic subplot. “They asked if Kannappa had loved anyone. I explained that while Shiva and Parvathy’s love story is known, there’s a love story about Kannappa too.” He added that he was sure he would have to face many questions from the Censor Board when the film goes for final censorship next week.

‘Every family has problems’

Though Vishnu briefly addressed the hard disk theft in an interaction with the press, he made it clear he did not want to delve into family matters at a public function, and added that every family faces challenges.

Vishnu explained that they had decided to take the matter to the police after multiple unsuccessful attempts to contact Manoj and his associates. “We tried reaching out to Manoj through friends, but were unable to get through. We don’t know whether they stole it or were acting under someone’s instructions,” he said.

The actor also clarified that the hard disk is password-protected, and that the likelihood of cracking the password is very low.