Vishal Krishna saves Rajinikanth's 'Kaala' from catastrophe
Mumbai, June 7: Vishal Krishna, who is cresting the box office with his Tamil/Telugu digital-crime thriller "Irumbhai Thirai"/"Abhimanyudu", has proved to be a real-life hero for superstar Rajinikanth by averting a major digital crime just in time by getting an overzealous Thalaiva fan arrested in Singapore while he was pirating "Kaala".
Vishal, who has lately become a prominent voice of the Tamil film industry and who heads Tamil Nadu Films Producers' Council (TFPC), said: "It could have been a major crisis," after the incident on Wednesday.
"'Kaala' is a big film for us. Rajini Sir is coming back after two years. To our horror we got to know through our sources in Singapore that a man in the Cathay multiplex was live-streaming 'Kaala' on Facebook."
Vishal and his team swung into action immediately
"We got the man arrested after he had streamed 40 minutes of 'Kaala' on Facebook. (This was prior to its release in India on Thursday). The important thing was to take action without delay. That we managed to do."
"It wasn't an easy job. We had to push really hard for his arrest as this was a crime committed outside India. But now that it's done, the arrest sends out the right signal to all potential piracy offenders who may not even be aware that they are guilty.
"Lots of people think recording scenes and songs on their phone is okay. But it is not okay. It is a serious crime. We want the potential offenders to know we have zero tolerance for piracy in any form. If we want to save the film industry we need to stop talking and start acting," he said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Power tariffs under BESCOM to rise from May 1
Bengaluru (PTI): Power bills for consumers under the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) will go up from May 1, following an order issued by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) on Friday.
The hike comes after KERC allowed the BESCOM to recover a revenue deficit of Rs 2,068 crore incurred in 2024-25, from the consumers.
As a result, for every unit of electricity consumed in 2024-25, the customers will be charged an additional 56 paise, it said.
"BESCOM shall calculate, for each of the active consumers of FY2024-25 the amount to be recovered based on their actual energy consumption during FY2024-25. Such amount shall be recovered during FY 2026-27 in equal monthly instalments, to be called as 'FY25 True up Charges', commencing from the first meter reading date falling on or after 1 May 2026 and concluding with the reading date ending on 30 April 2027," the order said.
"It is further ordered that BESCOM shall maintain a separate head of account, allocated for the purpose, to record the adjustment of the said amount to ensure full recovery of the deficit," it added.
Similarly Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (CESC) has also recorded a revenue deficit of Rs 121.71 crore and can collect an additional 15 paisa per unit for consumption in 2024-25, official sources said.
