In a significant win for Bollywood’s fight against piracy, the South Cyber Police Station in Mumbai has arrested a 26-year-old man for illegally distributing Chhaava, the Vicky Kaushal-led historical drama. The development comes days after another big-budget film, Sikandar starring Salman Khan, also fell victim to piracy—rattling the industry and raising concerns over content security.
The arrest followed a formal complaint filed by Rajat Rahul Haksar (37), CEO of August Entertainment Company. Registered under Crime No. 23/2025, the FIR invoked multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (316(2), 318(3)), Copyright Act (51, 63, 65(A)), Cinematograph Act (6AA, 6AB), and the IT Act (66, 63(j)). As per the complaint, from February 14 to March 20, 2025, a staggering 1818 pirated links of Chhaava were circulated across platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, YouTube, and Google—causing major losses to producers Maddock Films and August Entertainment.
Following a detailed digital trail, cyber experts traced one of the illicit sources to Sagar Manik Randhavan, a Daund, Pune resident. Randhavan reportedly used Hostinger to register a domain and developed an app that streamed pirated versions of films, including Chhaava, for paying users. On April 10, with assistance from Daund Police, PSI Rupali Chaudhary and her team arrested him and brought him to Mumbai. He remains in police custody until April 13.
The film industry has welcomed the arrest but remains on edge, especially after the high-profile leak of Sikandar. The pirated version of the Salman Khan starrer appeared online before its first official theatrical screening—an unprecedented breach. What’s more alarming is that the leaked copy was raw and unedited, hinting at a possible insider hand.
An industry insider shared, “There are videos of Chhaava being screened in school grounds and even on giant projectors at public junctions. This is organized piracy, and we hope the authorities go after everyone involved.”
The entertainment sector continues to call for swift and stringent action, emphasising that piracy not only sabotages box office collections but also disrespects the efforts of thousands who work behind the scenes.