It is known that iBomma operator Emandi Ravi has been arrested and is being interrogated.
Hyderabad City Commissioner V. C. Sajjanar held a press meet along with film industry figures Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna, Dil Raju, Suresh Babu and others. They shared information, concerns and warnings with the public.
What has shocked many is that Ravi is receiving strong online support.
Images and comments on social media portray him as a hero. One popular image shows a policeman unable to beat him because he is “addicted to films on his piracy site.”
Many comments are equally surprising. Some examples translated into English are as follows
“How can the system expect us to come to theatres and watch with family? We burn our salaries buying expensive popcorn.”
“Ravi is doing a great thing. He is helping poor people who cannot enter theatres with high prices.”
“For the rich there is Aha and Netflix and Amazon Prime. For poor people like us there is iBomma and Movierulz.”
“We pray to God that Ravi sir comes out soon.”
“For the first time I am seeing society react so positively to a piracy website and its owner. It reminds me of a scene from Tagore.”
“Ravi sir is the real hero who brought entertainment within the reach of common people. The actors who take crores of public money are zeroes in my view.”
“There are no good days for good people. The person who helped the common man is arrested and the one who cheats gets positions.”
“Robin Hood Ravi anna.”
“Ravi anna made iBomma for poor people who cannot spend money on movies. We want him released soon.”
“Producers give crores to heroes in white and black then force special shows on us. If you arrest them and also shut iBomma everyone will be happy.”
“They make huge budget films that spoil common people especially Telugu youth. The film field is the most corrupt field. People must change. Cinema causes loss for many.”
“Even after seeing these comments the film people will not understand. The Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan treated raising ticket prices as some kind of noble act.”
“You cannot catch politicians who do big scams but you take away even the small things we enjoy.”
Such comments show an alarming level of sympathy for someone involved in crime. Youth must understand that piracy sites compromise user data and such information is sold on the dark web contributing to serious cybercrimes.
Police officials also warned about this at the press meet.
Many complain about high theatre food prices yet no one is forced to buy anything. Some families say they choose piracy sites because children demand refreshments during intervals but this cannot justify illegal streaming.
The arrest of iBomma’s Emandi Ravi is a lawful and necessary step supported by the film industry. The public outrage against it shows a troubling divide in society about whether piracy is a crime. This is a deeply worrying trend.
