Tollywood lost Rs 3,700 crore due to piracy: Andhra man held for recording, leaking 40 films

Hyderabad: The Cyber Crime Police of Hyderabad have arrested a 29-year-old youth for his involvement in a major movie piracy racket that led to the illegal recording and leaking of nearly 40 Telugu films in the last one and a half years.

Who is the accused?

The accused, identified as Jana Kiran Kumar, works as an AC technician and resides in NGOs Colony, Vanasthalipuram, Ranga Reddy District. He is a native of East Godavari, Andhra Pradesh. His arrest followed a complaint filed by the Anti-Video Piracy Cell of the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce (TFCC).

Rs 3,700 crore loss to Telugu film industry in 2024

On June 5, the TFCC lodged a complaint stating that the Telugu film ‘#Single’, released on May 9, was pirated and uploaded online the same day. The pirated HD versions were found on notorious platforms such as 1TamilBlasters, 5MoviezRulz and 1TamilMV.

Forensic watermarking confirmed that the leak originated from a theatre. The TFCC highlighted that movie piracy had caused a staggering Rs 3,700 crore loss to the Telugu film industry in 2024 alone.

Modus operandi

According to police, Kumar came across a meme about the piracy group 1TamilMV and contacted its recruitment email. He proposed sourcing pirated Telugu films, after which the conversation shifted to Telegram to avoid detection. Police said he was assigned to record new releases, with each assignment fetching him between USD 300 and 400, paid in cryptocurrency.

Kumar would book movie tickets online, conceal his mobile phone in his shirt pocket and record films directly in theatres. He then uploaded the recorded versions to his handlers via Telegram. Some of the movies he filmed include Pellikani Prasad, 14 Days Love, Thandel, Game On, Kismat and Rajadhani Files, among others.

Payments for pirating films made in Bitcoin

The payments he received were in Bitcoin, which he later converted into Indian Rupees using crypto trading platforms like ZebPay and Coin DCX. Police revealed that over a span of 18 months, Kumar recorded and leaked around 40 films across different theatres in Hyderabad. His latest recording was in May 2025, when he filmed a movie and shared it with 1TamilMV.

Investigation and seizures

The case was cracked by a team led by Inspector S. Naresh, along with SI Manmohan Goud, Head Constable Md Feroz, Rakesh Sagar, and Thirumalesh. Two mobile phones used by the accused for recording and communication were seized during the arrest.

Public advisory

The police have issued a public advisory stating that piracy is a crime and recording or sharing pirated films is punishable under the Copyright Act, IT Act and Cinematograph Act, with penalties ranging from hefty fines to imprisonment for up to 10 years or even life in severe cases. The public has been urged to refrain from engaging in piracy and to report any suspicious activity to the local police or Cyber Crime Police.