‘Kannappa’ hard drive containing crucial movie VFX visuals gets “stolen”: The perpetrator’s identity is known, say producers

Vishnu Manchu in ‘Kannappa’.
| Photo Credit: T-Series Telugu/YouTube

An executive producer of the highly anticipated movie Kannappa filed a complaint at the Film Nagar police station in Hyderabad, alleging the theft of a hard disk containing the movie’s VFX visuals. Kannappa is a mythological epic that narrates the story of the legendary devotee of Lord Shiva. It stars Vishnu Manchu in the lead role.

The officials at the Film Nagar police station have filed the case after Kannappa‘s producer alleged theft of a hard disk by unknown individuals. As per an Inspector at the Film Nagar police station, the unknown individuals allegedly entered the office and stole a hard disk containing VFX visuals of Kannappa.

“Yesterday, we received a complaint from Vijay Kumar Reddy, executive producer, alleging that unknown persons entered the office and stole a hard disk containing VFX visuals of the movie Kannappa. We have registered a case and are currently investigating the matter,” said an Inspector of Film Nagar police station.

The film is produced by 24 Frames Factory and AVA Entertainments. The production house posted a statement about the controversy on social media. “A hard drive containing a pivotal action sequence between two lead characters of Kannappa, along with critical VFX work, was stolen during transit. The drive was shipped from Hive Studios, Mumbai, and intended to be delivered to our official production office.

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“Shockingly, the package was unlawfully intercepted and signed for by an individual named Mr. Raghu, who acted under the instructions of a woman named Charita. Neither of them are employees, representatives, or associates of 24 Frames Factory. Their act constitutes impersonation and theft,” read the statement from 24 Frames Factory.

“More disturbingly, credible intelligence has recently emerged that these individuals, under guidance from the same source, are planning to leak over 90 minutes of unreleased footage online in a desperate attempt to derail the release of Kannappa. In response, the Executive Producer has formally escalated the matter to Cyber Crime authorities to take swift and firm action.”

In the movie, Vishnu Manchu takes centre stage as Thinnadu, a fearless warrior who transforms into Lord Shiva’s ultimate devotee. Bollywood star Akshay Kumar appears in the role of Lord Shiva. Mohanlal plays Kirata, while Prabhas essays Rudra. Kajal Aggarwal and Preity Mukhundhan are the actors in the movie. Mukesh Kumar Singh is the director while the film is produced by Mohan Babu, Vishnu’s father.