iBomma piracy case, premiere shows row and betting apps controversy mark Tollywood’s 2025

Hyderabad: In 2025, the Telugu film industry and the State government found common ground to work together on various issues, from the iBomma movie piracy case to policies aimed to transform Hyderabad into a global centre for film production, on par with Hollywood.

However, administrative and legal clashes also ensued with cases related to illegal betting apps and premiere movie screenings.

This was also the year when, owing to the prestigious Jubilee Hills bypoll, the Congress government and the Opposition tried to woo film workers by announcing welfare proposals.

Here’s a detailed breakdown of what went down in Tollywood this year:

1. iBomma movie piracy case

One of the highlights of the year is the nationwide crackdown on movie piracy and the subsequent arrest of Immadhi Ravi in November at his Kukatpally home. Ravi was the main administrator of iBomma and other movie piracy websites.

The website reportedly had a massive user base, millions of monthly visitors from India and abroad, becoming one of the most widely accessed piracy hubs for Telugu cinema.

Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar said that the website’s kingpin, Ravi, earned up to Rs 20 crore through piracy and linked advertising networks and was also confident he could evade prosecution through loopholes in digital enforcement systems.

The investigators so far have seized assets worth Rs 3 crore in the case.

2. Jubilee Hills bypoll

Apart from the piracy network bust, the bonhomie between the State government and the film industry in 2025 continued in other areas, such as the welfare of film workers and the development of the industry.

The industry bigwigs and State government officials met multiple times over the year, and these repeated interactions carried clear political undertones ahead of the Jubilee Hills bypoll on November 11.

With an estimated 25,000 voters from the Telugu film industry in Jubilee Hills, many outreach programmes were executed by the Congress government, with many being helmed by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy himself.

Extending 20% of movie profits for Film Workers’ Welfare Fund

Promising to make Hyderabad a world-class film hub, CM Revanth rolled out a comprehensive welfare package for the Telugu film industry’s workforce, ensuring that technicians, junior artistes, and daily-wagers share the benefits of the industry’s success.

The Chief Minister said the government would permit an increase in ticket prices during big releases, on the condition that 20 per cent of the additional profits be contributed to a Film Workers’ Welfare Fund.

The CM also announced a slew of welfare initiatives, such as:

- A corporate-standard school to provide free education and food for the children of cine workers.

- Aarogyasri health insurance scheme for all cine workers, ensuring access to quality medical care.

- Financial support for the construction of a Film Workers’ Association Bhavan and land in Bharat Future City to establish a Cine Fighters’ Training Centre.

The CM Revanth-led government also revived the annual State Film Awards after a decade-long gap, naming them after the late balladeer Gaddar to honour outstanding contributions to cinema.

Providing solutions to wage disputes

In August, when the Telugu film industry workers went on strike over a lack of wage hike, halting shootings for 18 days, industry insiders said the deadlock was broken after CM Revanth pushed for an urgent resolution.

Quickly, discussions between producers and employees’ unions followed, with both sides agreeing on a revised wage structure.

3. Illegal betting apps

The entertainment industry at large was also pulled up for its share of alleged involvement in illegal businesses.

In July, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) booked as many as 29 actors, influencers and YouTubers for allegedly endorsing illegal betting platforms on social media. The film actors included Rana Daggubati, Vijay Deverakonda, Prakash Raj and Lakshmi Manchu.

The celebrities are accused of violating the Public Gambling Act, 1867, by promoting betting apps that have caused heavy financial losses to the public.

4. Sandhya theatre stampede case and premiere shows

In 2025, premiere movie screenings – the first public showing of a film accessible through special invites to generate a buzz for the film – came under legal scrutiny.

Akhanda 2: The Telangana High Court had to intervene in the premiere show for the movie Akhanda 2 in December. After the announcement of the screening, the Telangana government ordered 20 per cent of the additional revenue generated from the increased ticket prices of Akhanda 2 be allocated to the Movie Artists’ Welfare Association.

However, the HC suspended the movie ticket price hike and suspended permissions for special screenings.

When the premiere screening went ahead despite the order, the court issued contempt notices to Home Department Secretary CV Anand and BookMyShow CEO Ashish Hemrajani for defying its directives.

Pushpa 2: In December, Hyderabad Police completed the investigation into the Sandhya Theatre stampede case during the Pushpa 2 premiere show in 2024.

Actor Allu Arjun, who was earlier arrested briefly for his alleged role in the stampede, has been named in the chargesheet along with 22 others.

Notable mentions in 2025

1. Actor Pragathi winning accolades in powerlifting

In December, at 49, when most people begin to slow down, prominent character actor Pragathi Mahavadi won international accolades in powerlifting. In early 2025, Pragathi claimed gold at the National Masters Classic Powerlifting Championship in Kerala.

In December, she represented India at the Asian Open and Masters Powerlifting Championship in Turkey and clinched gold in the deadlift and added three silver medals in the squat, bench press, and overall performance.

2. Konda Surekha apologises to Nagarjuna

In November, a year after the controversy started, Forest Minister Konda Surekha apologised to veteran actor Akkineni Nagarjuna for remarks against the actor’s family.

The high-profile criminal defamation case filed by Nagarjuna against Minister Konda Surekha was dismissed as withdrawn.

3. Fight over personality rights

To curb the ever-increasing misuse of their images and videos on social media, actors Chiranjeevi Konidela, Jr NTR and Pawan Kalyan approached courts to protect their personality and publicity rights from unauthorised commercial exploitation across all media platforms.

4. Suresh Babu elected TFCC president

At the end of 2025, leading producer and exhibitor D Suresh Babu was unanimously elected as the President of the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce (TFCC), as per media reports.