Zoya Akhtar reacts to theft at Tiger Baby Films, confirms it was an inside job

Zoya Akhtar reacted after a major theft was reported at Tiger Baby Digital LLP, where several hard disks containing sensitive production data were allegedly stolen and sold. The filmmaker called it an inside job and revealed that the company has backup copies of all the missing files.

In Short

• Zoya Akhtar confirmed theft of 66 hard disks from Tiger Baby Digital LLP's Bandra office
• Police arrested two accused, including an office boy, linked to the internal theft
• Stolen data includes unreleased footage, edits, and archival material worth over Rs 13 lakh

Filmmaker Zoya Akhtar has reacted after a major theft took place at Tiger Baby Digital LLP, the production company she co-founded with Reema Kagti, in Mumbai. Several hard disks containing important production material linked to films and web series were stolen from the company’s Bandra office and later sold in the grey market.

Calling the incident “an internal job”, Zoya confirmed that police action is underway and added that the company still has backup copies of the missing data.

In a conversation with Bollywood Hungama, Zoya said, “Yes, there has been a robbery in my office, hard disks have been stolen. We filed a complaint and police has made some arrests as well. It’s an internal job, it’s sad to what extent people go to make money."

She further assured that despite the theft, the production house had secured duplicate copies of the files. “Luckily we have backup files of everything," she added.

According to police officials, the issue reportedly came to light on May 21 after company staff members failed to locate several hard disks required for ongoing projects. Following an internal check, the production house discovered that multiple storage devices containing sensitive production data had gone missing from the office.

Police stated that 66 hard disks linked to film and OTT projects were allegedly stolen from the Bandra office. The missing material reportedly included unreleased footage, rough edits, edited footage, post-production files, advertisement projects, archival footage, completed movie data and backup files. The estimated loss is believed to be over Rs 13 lakh.

During the investigation, police identified Mohammed Shahid Azim Khan, 28, an office boy from Vakola in Santacruz, as one of the key accused.

According to investigators, Khan was responsible for handling and safeguarding the hard drives and allegedly stole several devices over the last five months before selling them in the grey market.

The second accused, identified as Ritesh Suresh Shah, 44, from Borivali, allegedly purchased the hard disks for amounts ranging between Rs 15,000 and Rs 20,000 each.

Police suspect that more than 100 hard disks may have gone missing from the production office over the past few months.

Both accused have been booked under Section 306 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to theft by an employee, along with other provisions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act. They have been remanded to police custody till May 29.

Tiger Baby Films is known for backing acclaimed projects such as Kho Gaye Hum Kahan, Made in Heaven Season 2, The Archies, Dahaad and Superboys of Malegaon, among others.

- Ends