10th November 2003
Hyderabad

Note: This is the Pressnote issued by the concerned authorities.

A major DVD /VCD piracy racket has been unearthed by the AP Film chamber and the Task force police. A former Telugu film producer JV Rama rao-Chennai who is involved in a big way in providing the DVD pirates operating from US, and a film distributor in Tirupathi are absconding. The arrested people include JV Ramaraos younger brother J.Balakrishna and his manager Ravibabu along with one Krishna (of Volga videos) and Anjaiah a former production manager with Padmalaya Studios and Venu and Venkatrao ex and present employees of Gemini TV and Sekhar a relative of a DVD company owner in New York USA.

The gang has been procuring film prints of latest films from the distributor in Tirupathi on the pretext of showing it to Telugu association but actually, converting them into beta master tapes at a place called TELECINE India in Saligramam, chennai. Alternately by offering money to the staff at the satellite channels they have been making unauthorized copies of latest and old films and selling them to US pirates who are passing them off as original DVDs.

In this process, this gang has sent many master beta tapes for making pirated DVDs to pirates in US during the last 3 years. The police seized the betas of films Seethaiah, Sambaram, Okariki Okaru which were being sent to US. The other films which the culprits confessed to have pirated include Janaki weds sriram, (which was given by Venu of Gemini tv to Sekhar who sent it to his US DVD company,) besides Pellam to panenti, Kalyana Ramudu, Adavi ramudu (NTR classic) Alibaba 40 dongalu etc., The gang has also confessed to have supplied the unauthorized beta tapes of Vasu, Indra, Nuvvu naaku Nachav, Maavidakulu, Chilaka pacchha Kapuram, Duet, Prema Sandadi, Pellante idera etc., to pirates in US.

Mr.Allu Aravind Convener of the Anti-piracy committee of Telugu film producers council informed that the interrogation of the arrested people has revealed crucial information about the many more films pirated versions and networks of various pirates operating in US and some VCD pirates in India this also include the names of some big people in the trade, efforts are on to arrest these pirates. Police and the Film industry are trying to ensure the cancellation of their visas and passports by alerting the US consulates about their dubious records. He said the names cannot be disclosed now for reasons of confidentiality.