Filmmaker Puri Jagannadh has sought police protection after he allegedly received threats from film distributors, who are planning to protest in front of his house in Hyderabad if he doesn’t settle losses incurred from his last release, Liger.

In his police complaint, Jagannadh, who currently resides in Mumbai, mentioned that the distributors cannot threaten or blackmail him in any manner and that they should have filed a civil case if they felt he or his firm owes them any amount.

Jagannadh, whose last outing featuring actors Vijay Deverakonda and Ananya Panday failed to elicit much response at box office, also stated in his police complaint that as per an agreement, he had paid all dues to distributor Warangal Sreenu. He claimed Sreenu defaulted payments to the sub-distributors, who are now being coerced by him to believe that the filmmaker owes them money.

He further mentioned that he fears Sreenu will instigate violence, enter his house in Hyderabad and harass his family members, which include his 85-year-old mother-in-law, his wife and daughter.

Liger, which also stars Ramya Krishnan and Ronit Roy, was promoted aggressively as a pan-India film, especially after director Karan Johar came on board to back the Hindi version. However, the film opened to largely middling response from the audiences, with some calling the film a “wasted opportunity” for Deverakonda, who had spent three years on the project.