Online piracy steals the fizz from Nani’s Tuck Jagadish

First, it was the real pandemic, and now it is a reel pandemic. This is how the makers of Tuck Jagadish, starring Ghanta Naveen Babu aka Natural Star Nani must be feeling right now after ‘pirates’ leaked the film online. While the film was penciled in for an April 16 release, the second wave of the pandemic derailed this for the much-touted family thriller.

The fateful leak

After many deliberations, the launch of the movie was fixed on a leading OTT platform on September 10 when reel pirates struck. Directed by Shiva Nirvana, the film was made available for free on multiple sites. This brazen act of online piracy has dampened the buzz that surrounded its release.

The websites that thrive on leaking cinematic content that the film-making team puts its heart and soul into, have proven to be a major irritant for all stakeholders concerned. OTT platforms thrive on subscriptions and such illegal acts which offer free downloads and HD quality, cut into their subscriber base.

Jagapathi Babu, Daniel Balaji, Nassar, Thiruveer, Rohini, Naresh, Devadarshini, Rao Ramesh, and Praveen to form part of the star cast of this family entertainer. Sahu Garapati and Harish Peddi have produced the film under the Shine Screens banner. The phenomenon of online piracy is not something that Tollywood suffers from alone.

Not just Tollywood

This is almost a universal one that film industries the world over dread. A few other examples from Bollywood are of film Bell Bottom starring Akshay Kumar, Chehre starring Emraan Hashmi and Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan’s Bhoot Police. Nani must be keeping his fingers crossed that his second digital release, irrespective of the piracy issue, further cements his place in the heart of his fans.

Notwithstanding this vexing issue, a supernatural thriller awaits Nani’s acting acumen in Shyam Singha Roy. Sai Pallavi, Krithi Shetty, Madonna Sebastian feature in this film that Rahul Sankrityan is directing. The film has Sanu John Varghese’s cinematography and is produced by Venkat Boyanapalli.