Chiranjeevi blames piracy for box office loss of Game Changer, OG

Actor Chiranjeevi has expressed concern over the loss suffered by major Telugu films due to piracy, and specifically pointed out the impact on Ram Charan’s ‘Game Changer’, Pawan Kalyan’s ‘OG’ and Vijay Deverakonda’s ‘Kingdom’. Chiranjeevi, addressing the media after a meeting with Hyderabad City Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar, cited piracy websites as the primary reason for the financial setbacks experienced by recent high-profile releases.

These comments came after the arrest of Immadi Ravi, the alleged operator of piracy website iBomma. The Telugu film industry has faced repeated challenges with unauthorized online distribution, which has affected box office returns.

Chiranjeevi said that many films starring lead actors have suffered losses related to piracy. “Be it Dil Raju’s ‘Game Changer’ at the beginning of the year, or ‘Kingdom’, ‘Thandel’ and ‘Oji’ throughout the year, all these films suffered serious losses at the box office because of this guy,” he said.

The meeting included actors Chiranjeevi and Nagarjuna, filmmaker SS Rajamouli and producer Dil Raju, who gathered to acknowledge the efforts of the Hyderabad Police. The latest action came in the wake of Nani’s ‘Hit: The Third Case’ and other films being leaked on the same day as their release, leading to an investigation that revealed the widespread operation behind major piracy websites.

Chiranjeevi further addressed the impact of piracy, saying, “This individual has caused significant damage to the film industry through the unauthorized distribution of hundreds of films.”

Commissioner VC Sajjanar explained in detail the scale of the piracy operation. “Whether it was ‘OG’ or ‘Kantara: Chapter 1’, ‘Dude’ or ‘Mirai’, we found all these films on his hard disk. There were 21,000 films stored on his hard disk. If a film was released in the morning, by the evening he would upload it on his website. This man, Immadi Ravi, who did all this, is a native of Visakhapatnam. He made more than Rs 20 crore through nefarious means. Earned and even collected personal data of Rs. 50 lakh people were using his site. He also ran 61 piracy mirror websites and had duplicate IDs and passports.”

The arrest was part of a broader crackdown that led to the detention of several individuals involved in piracy networks across India. The operation was carried out following complaints lodged by the Anti-Video Piracy Cell of the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce after several films surfaced online illegally.

Chiranjeevi also highlighted the threat posed by piracy on ambitious projects. “Rajamouli is now going to make such a big film (titled ‘Varanasi’). He wants to take Telugu cinema to the global level. At a time like this, piracy remains such a big hurdle. I must thank the police for understanding our issues and arresting him.”

Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan also commented on the recent enforcement action, saying, “Arresting the operator of IBomma and Bappam and shutting down these major piracy websites is a welcome development.”

Hyderabad Police arrested five other persons in connection with the case. Ashwini Kumar of Bihar, Cyril Infant Raj of Tamil Nadu, Jan Kiran Kumar of Hyderabad, Sudhakaran and Arsalan Ahmed of Erode are accused in this case.