Puri Jagannadh's alleged attack by distributors, true or false?

Puri Jagannadh’s claims of being attacked by film distributors has not just surprised the Tollywood film industry, but the alleged attackers themselves. The Loafer director had lodged a complaint with the police saying that distributors Abhishek Nama, Kaali Sudheer and Mutyala Ramdas forced their way into his home.

They then allegedly manhandled him and threatened him with dire consequences if he didn’t compensate them for losses they had incurred after Loafer flopped.

The three have denied the claims, with Abhishek — who bought the distribution rights for Nizam — claiming that he hasn’t met the director in over three months: “We had registered a complaint with the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce three months ago, which is a general practice when losses are incurred.

I was not in touch with Puri for almost three months and have not even made any calls to him in these three months. He is always under high security and there are so many cameras installed in his house and office, which can prove our innocence.”

Mutyala Ramdas added, “I am physically handicapped and have no strength to manhandle him. Also, I have bought Loafer film distribution rights for only East Godavari, which is a small territory. Puri Jagannadh is my dear friend and I had earlier bought a film titled Cameraman Ganga Tho Rambabu and had incurred a loss of Rs 81 lakh.”

Kaali Sudheer, who was also named in the complaint, is confused why his name came up. “I’m in Mumbai since a week. Moreover, I’ve no clue why he registered a complaint against me when I am not in any way related to the movie.”

The producer of Loafer, C. Kalyan, is shocked with the allegations. “It’s me who has incurred the losses, I should have asked Puri to compensate but I did not. I have spoken to Puri last night (on Saturday), I shall call him again and try to solve the issue.”

As pointed out by Abhishek, Puri indeed has high security, with CCTV cameras, armed security personnel and more, after the TRS party members had attacked him after Puri Jagannadh’s Cameraman Ganga Tho Rambabu had released.

Also, it’s a practise for those who are paid a remuneration of Rs 1 crore and above to compensate if the loss is above 20 per cent. V.V. Vinayak and Mahesh Babu returned a part of their remuneration after Akhil and Aagadu didn’t do well. Puri, who charges '8 crore per film, hasn’t yet offered to return any money.

Those in Filmnagar are also speculating that this could just be a mere drama by Puri Jagannadh, who has two movies lined up — Rogue and another movie with Kalyan Ram, so that the flop of Loafer doesn’t affect him or his remuneration in any way.

Setting the tone?

While Puri himself, who is in Bangkok scripting his next film, refrained from commenting, his colleagues reacted sharply. While the cops investigate the incident, if found to be true it could start a dangerous trend within the Telugu film industry.

Oopiri director Vamshi Paidipally says, “This is an insane act, and I don’t think this sets an example for anything. Such violence against a director cuts into the creative enthusiasm of filmmaking.”

Ravikanth Perepu, director of Kshanam is outraged by the alleged attack. He says, “I don’t know what equations the makers and distributors share with each other. But I think Puri should be respected for his works which were blockbusters and made a lot of money for the producers and distributors. Cinema is a form of art. Rowdyism isn’t.”

— With inputs from
Lipika Varma, Suresh Kavirayani and Subhash K. Jha.