Puri Jagannadh’s ‘leaked’ verbal attack on Liger’s distributors goes viral

Puri Jagannadh is in the news for hitting out at the Telugu distributors of ‘Liger’ who are believed to be pestering him for a refund of their investment. The film’s disastrous run had given them terrible losses. Puri is one of the producers of the movie alongside Charmme Kaur. They are not duty-bound as per agreements to return the monies. However, Puri apparently promised to compensate in order to maintain his goodwill.

In a leaked audio tape, here is what Puri is heard telling a distributor:

“I am not resorting to any blackmailing. I am not bound to return the monies. Yet, I am doing it (on humanitarian grounds). If you guys do over-acting even after my promise, I will lose the will to return the monies. I am not supposed to compensate the losses incurred by exhibitors. How am I concerned with them?”

“Cinema is like gambling. It’s like a game of cards. Some hit the bull’s eye. Others flop. When a film becomes a hit, it becomes a headache to recover dues from buyers. It happened to me with ‘Pokiri’ and ‘iSmart Shankar’, among other hits. The buyers’ association didn’t help me out.”

“Anil Thadani (the Hindi distributor of ‘Liger’) is always professional. He is a decent person who is honest with the collections. I am always happy to engage with such individuals.”