The full Telugu movie of director KV Guhan's 118 starring Nandamuri Kalyan Ram was leaked online and the free download of its pirated copy is likely to affect its collection at the box office.
The movie 118 has become the latest victim of piracy on the very first day it hit the very screens. A notorious gang has apparently recorded the complete film during its screening in theatres and released the full movie on its website for free download. Their website offers seven prints varying from 2.1 GM to 200 MB for download. These prints are said to have poor audio and visual quality.
The makers of 118 have taken precautionary measures to curb its piracy. They have also requested the filmgoers to say no to piracy and watch the film only in the cinema halls. They got into action of taking down its pirated copy from the interest. They were successful in getting it deleted from some sites, but they could not stop it from spreading to other websites.
Written by KV Guhan, 118 is a suspense action thriller. The movie is about a journalist (Kalyan Ram) who often sees weird dreams about a girl (Nivetha Thomas) getting killed. He decides to investigate the case himself along with his friend (Prabhas Sreenu) and fiancé (Shalini Pandey). Who is this girl? What does she have to do with Gautam? Will he succeed? The answers to these questions form the crux of its story.
Mahesh S Koneru, who has bankrolled 118 under his banner East Coast Productions, has spent Rs 11 crore on its production and promotion. Its global theatrical rights have fetched Rs 6.90 crore for him, while he got another Rs 7 crore from the sale of its satellite and Hindi dubbing rights. It has made good profit for the producer before its release.
Having opened good response, 118 has collected approximately Rs 5.50 crore gross at the worldwide box office in two days and earned Rs 3 crore for its distributors. It is doing better business on Sunday. PRO Vamsi Kaka tweeted, "Rocking Sunday for #118Movie. Day 3 is all set to register more than Day 1 & Day 2 collections. #118ThrillingBlockbuster #118Film."
However, the Kalyan Ram, Shalini Pandey and Nivetha Thomas starrer would return its distributors' investment with some profit shares in its opening week. But the free download of the full movie is posing a threat to 118, as it may eat away some amount of their profits in the coming days.
We at International Business Times, India are strictly against piracy of any film and we condemn people who support it. We always stand by the film industry which has suffered huge losses due to piracy. We also request you to join us in the fight against piracy.
Say no to piracy and encourage filmmakers by watching films in cinema halls.
