Vijay Devarakonda and Ananya Pandey starrer Liger hit the screens across India on August 25. The film, however, failed to make a mark at the box office. Its poor performance left many distributors and exhibitors reeling under huge financial losses, with many of them losing 80% of their investment, according to industry insiders. However, a protest call circulated on social media, asking for compensation, has stirred up a huge controversy. In the latest development, an audio, purportedly of Liger’s producer-director Puri Jagannadh, has been leaked.
The protest call asks exhibitors, who were affected by the film’s bad run at the box office, to come to Puri’s house to protest on October 27. The message also threatened those not attending the protest, saying that their names would be removed from the list of those eligible for a refund. The message further added that protesters should be prepared to stay for at least four days in Hyderabad. Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma called it a “threatening message” while sharing the protest call on social media.
Threatening Msg circulating in Distribution groups about LIGER pic.twitter.com/RkYRYkNrwz
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) October 24, 2022
Following this, an audio call was leaked, in which a voice that purportedly belongs to Puri could be heard saying, “Are they blackmailing me? I don't owe anyone money, but I am still giving it. There was a loss and out of good will I have decided to return. I have already spoken to buyers and informed them that the agreed amount would be returned in a month's time.”
He further added that he decided to return the money to protect his honour, but still people are protesting and trying to demean him. He said that he would not give money to anyone who protests at his house. “Here (in the film industry) everyone is undertaking a gamble. Some movies will be hits and others will flop. I am yet to get a lot of money from hits like Pokiri and Ishmart Shankar. Will the buyers association help me with that? If you want to protest, do it. I'll take the list of people who protested and will give money to those who did not protest,” Puri was heard saying.
Director #PuriJagan leaked conversation on phone pic.twitter.com/syZ8GuKpzd— Dhanush (@Always_kaNTRi) October 24, 2022
Bharath Choudary, one of the exhibitors of Liger in Andhra Pradesh, said, “Puri is in touch with us and has agreed that a certain amount will be returned. We hope that everything will be returned on amicable terms. We are not planning any protest from this (Andhra) region.”
Meanwhile, another exhibitor, Balgovind from Telangana region, said that exhibitors of the film will meet on October 27 to discuss how much is due to each. He added that he too has listened to the audio allegedly belonging to Puri. In his opinion, “If someone has expressed their willingness to return the money, we should not irritate them further. When he is ready to provide a solution to our problem, we should let him.” Balgovind hoped that good sense will prevail despite the differences of opinion among the exhibitors.
According to industry insiders, exhibitors can avail a refund of the advance in case a fim runs at a loss, provided that such a clause was agreed upon while signing the initial agreement with the film’s producer. However, terms and conditions differ between each film, region and distributor.
Watch the video of Liger trailer here: