AC mechanic by day, movie pirate by night: Leaked 40 films from theatres; Hyderabad man makes Rs 40 lakh in crypto wealth

HYDERABAD: By day, Jana Kiran Kumar fixed air-conditioners. By night, the 29-year-old became a high-tech movie pirate with a calculated plan that could rival a heist script.Kiran slowly built a profitable side job by secretly recording newly-released movies and leaking them-a racket that reportedly earned him over Rs 40 lakh in cryptocurrency over the past 18 months.

But eventually, the resident of Hyderabad's Vanasthalipuram got caught following a joint operation by Telangana Film Chamber of Commerce (TFCC) anti-piracy cell and cyber crime cops. It also marked the first instance of a movie pirate being caught while recording inside a theatre.During interrogation, Kiran confessed to recording and leaking at least 40 movies from different theatres across Hyderabad. The accused told cops that he would choose cinema halls based on occupancy data from BookMyShow. "The emptier the theatre, the better my chances of going unnoticed," he reportedly told cops.