The TFCC estimated a staggering Rs.3,700 crore loss to the Telugu film industry in 2024 due to piracy
Hyderabad:Sleuths of the Cyber Crimes Police Station on Thursday arrested a 29-year-old AC technician, Jana Kiran Kumar, for allegedly operating as a key link in a high-profile movie piracy racket. The accused, a native of East Godavari district, was residing in the NGOs' Colony, Vanasthalipuram. Police seized two mobile phones from his possession.
The arrest followed a complaint filed on June 5 by Yarra Manindra Babu of the Anti-Video Piracy Cell, Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce (TFCC), alleging that the film #Single, released on May 9, had been pirated and circulated online on the day of its release.
Pirated HD versions of the film surfaced on different online platforms. Forensic watermarking traced the leak to a theatre. The TFCC pegged piracy-related losses to the Telugu film industry in 2024 at `3,700 crore, and called for swift action to dismantle organised piracy networks.
Police commissioner C.V. Anand said Kumar came across a meme referencing a movie content platform and contacted its recruitment section via email. He offered to supply pirated Telugu films and shifted to Telegram to avoid detection. Assigned to record newly released movies, he received payments ranging from $300 to $400 in cryptocurrency for each film.
Using tickets booked online, Kumar recorded films with a mobile phone concealed in his shirt pocket. The pirated content was uploaded and shared via Telegram, with payments made in Bitcoin, later converted into Indian rupees using crypto platforms.
Among the films pirated were Pellikani Prasad, 14 Days Love, Thandel, Game On, Kismat, and Rajadhani Files. In the last 18 months, he is believed to have leaked around 40 films recorded in various Hyderabad theatres. Police confirmed he recorded another film in May 2025 and shared it with handlers linked to the movie content platform.
