Controversy over public screening of 'Balagam' film in Telangana villages

Hyderabad: The public screening of the film ‘Balagam’ using projectors in villages has turned controversial. Purportedly, its producer Dil Raju complained to
Nizamabad police on Sunday over the illegal screening of the movie in villages.

The complaint said that some anti-social elements had copied content of the movie from the OTT platform and were screening it in public. ‘Balagam’ was released worldwide on March 3, and released on an OTT platform on March 24, it said.

Dil Raju Productions LLP said that the illegal screening was adversely impacting the movie’s theatre collections. They urged police to initiate criminal action against the piracy groups and protect them from the revenue loss.

Meanwhile, a netizen tagged a video clip of projector screening of ‘Balagam’ in a village on Twitter. The person also said that Balagam had surpassed the records of ‘Bahubali’ in rural Telangana.

Other Netizens pointed out that after the overwhelming response to the movie, “some sections” were trying to prevent its public screening.

Meanwhile, ‘Balagam’ director Venu Yeldandi tagged the public screening of the movie on Twitter on Sunday.

“It is lucky enough to see the videos sent by the audience in public spaces and visiting multiplexes”, he said. Few people also shared video clips of
them watching ‘Balagam’ in theatres, he said.

When contacted by Deccan Chronicle, Dil Raju production company sources denied the police complaint over projector screening of ’Balagam’ in villages. “Let the people enjoy the movie, which shows strong bonds of families in Telangana,” a source said.