Ram Gopal Varma produced the series and Aghastya Manju directed it, but police said the FIR does not mention specific names.
Hyderabad:The director and producer of the web series Dhahanam have been booked for allegedly using the name of a former IPS officer without her consent and falsely attributing real-life incidents to her, Raidurgam inspector Ch. Venkanna said.
Complainant Anjana Sinha, a former Andhra Pradesh cadre IPS officer, alleged that her name was used in the series without authorisation. She said the makers claimed certain events in the series, which deals with themes of feudalism and Maoism, were narrated by her, though she had no connection with them.
Reports suggested that Ram Gopal Varma produced the series and Aghastya Manju directed it, but police said the FIR does not mention specific names. “We will first gather evidence on whether the concerned persons directed or produced the film, and then serve notices and take further action,” the inspector said.
The FIR has been registered under Sections 79 (outraging a woman’s modesty), 336 (forgery), 469 (forgery to harm reputation), 356 (defamation), and 61 (criminal conspiracy) of the BNS.
Ram Gopal Varma has faced controversies earlier. In 2023, the Telangana High Court suspended the release of his film Vyuham following a petition challenging its censor certificate, reportedly after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s son Nara Lokesh urged the CBFC to deny clearance. Prakasam district police had also booked him for allegedly making derogatory remarks against Naidu, then in opposition, and his family during a film promotion.
