The makers of actor Ram Charan’s latest outing, Game Changer, have filed a police complaint against around 45 persons for allegedly leaking a pirated version of the film online.

The pirates reportedly also demanded money from members of the production team before the release of the film and warned that they would leak the pirated version if their demands were not met.

But as the producers did not give in to the demands, plot points of the film were shared online two days ahead of its release on January 10. Eventually, on the day of the film’s release, an HD pirated print was leaked on various internet platforms, such as Telegram. An investigation is on to ascertain if the accused individuals committed these crimes independently or as a group.

Directed by filmmaker S Shankar, the movie features Charan and actor Kiara Advani in the lead roles. The project, which marks the director’s first Telugu film, sees Charan play dual roles — that of a politician and an IAS officer. HTC

Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has called into question the reported box office figures of the Ram Charan-starrer. This comes amid controversy over discrepancies in the box office numbers claimed by the producers and those reported by trade sources. While the producers claimed that the film made Rs. 186 crore on the first day, trade sources quoted figures well below Rs. 100 crore.

Taking to X on Monday, Varma wrote sarcastically, “If @ssrajamouli and @SukumarWritings sky rocketed Telugu cinema in real time collections into a fantastically stratospheric heights thereby sending legitimate shock waves into Bollywood, the people behind G C succeeded in proving that the south is much more FANTASTIC in being a FRAUD.”