K Venkateshwarlu
Hyderabad
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) interrogated ‘Liger’ film director-cum-producer Puri Jagannath and producer Charmi on Thursday as per the complaint filed by AICC member Bakka Judson on September 5.
The ED collected evidence from Puri Jagannath and Charmi indicating that they had violated the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999, regarding the film ‘Liger’ in which Deverakonda Vijay and boxer Mike Tyson had acted. Puri Jagannath and Charmi who had invested in ‘Liger,’ attended the ED inquiry on Thursday at the Hyderabad ED office.
They came to the ED office in another vehicle to ensure that they were not recognised and entered the ED office via the back gate. ED officials did not reveal details.
The ED officials found that money was transferred to the accounts of foreigners. The ED has been inquiring into the case suspecting that politicians had invested in the movie. It is learnt that ED officials issued notices to Puri and Charmi regarding this.
It may be recalled that Judson had filed a complaint with the ED Director in New Delhi on September 5 alleging that “Telangana Chief Minister Kalvakuntla Chandrasekhar Rao’s daughter Kavitha MLC had invested her illegally earned money in educational institutions and in movies. He had said that the recently released ‘Liger’ was one such movie.
The film’s director, Puri Jagannath, and producer, Charmi, were investigated in the 2021 September drugs case by ED. Earlier, in 2017, the SIT had questioned 11 film personalities including Director Puri Jagannath, Cameraperson Shyam K. Naidu, Art Director Chinna, actors Ravi Teja, Navdeep, Tarun, Subba Raju and actresses Charmme and Mumaith Khan for around 94 hours.
Due to the failure of State investigation agencies, all of them were given a clean chit by a Ranga Reddy court in 2021. This was made possible by the pressure exerted by KCR’s family on investigating agencies. This case also enabled the KCR family to get a hold on the Telugu film industry. The CM’s daughter, Kavitha, organised a meeting with Telugu producers to make pan-India films with Vijay Devarakonda. TRS leaders sponsored a free show for journalists at the Prasad Imax theatre in Hyderabad.This is the relationship that developed between Kavitha, Puri, Charmee and Vijay through which they made the pan-India movie ‘Liger.’ When Kavitha’s name cropped up in the Delhi liquor scam, she filed a suit in the city civil court against BJP leaders restraining them from mentioning her name in the media. The same day, that is, on August 20, 2022, actor Vijay Devarkonda tweeted, “We will not fear anyone when we are in the right.” The KCR family is searching for ways to make money and to make them white. Another company connected to KCR, My Homes, is producing the movie, Jana Mana, with the same hero. So I humbly request you to probe from where and how the movie ‘Liger’ was financed and the source of funds, Judson said in his complaint.
