A shocking data theft case has sent shockwaves through Mumbai’s entertainment industry after 66 high-capacity hard disks containing sensitive and possibly unreleased movie and web series content went missing from the Bandra West office of Tiger Baby Digital LLP, the production house run by popular film director duo Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti. One of the accused has been arrested while another remains at large, and investigators fear that a wider criminal network may be involved.
What was stolen from Zoya Akhtar’s office and what is its value?
According to an IANS report, the missing hard drives were reported to contain a wide range of digital production materials, including raw footage, editing schedules, post-production backups, advertising content, and archives of unreleased projects. The devices themselves were valued at between Rs 12 lakh and Rs 13 lakh. However, industry insiders warn that if any of the unreleased content stored on these discs finds its way online, the actual financial and reputational damage could reach into the millions of dollars.
The stolen devices were high-capacity storage units ranging from 16TB to 72TB, the type of infrastructure routinely used by major production houses for films, OTT projects and commercial photography. Internal checks conducted by the company revealed that out of 119 hard drives stored in the office, 66 are currently missing.
Projects whose data may have been compromised
Sources indicate that the missing discs contain production material associated with several high-profile projects, including “Made in Heaven,” “Ghost Stories,” the Nykaa campaigns, and “Gandhi Money.”
Investigators are now examining whether unpublished content from any of these projects was illegally accessed, copied, sold or traded.The issue first came to light on May 21, when staff at the production house’s Bandra West office were unable to locate some hard drives needed for ongoing work. A thorough search of the storage area revealed several devices missing. Instead, employees allegedly found empty and partially damaged boxes inside storage lockers, a discovery that immediately raised red flags.More importantly, police observed no signs of forced entry, fire, or exterior damage in the office, prompting the company to launch an internal investigation. A formal complaint was later lodged by the company’s Executive Assistant and HR Director, Mahjabeen Mushtaq Sheikh, following which the Bandra Police registered an FIR and initiated a full investigation.
office boy arrested; Borivali Broker Escape
The main accused, Muhammad Shahid Azim Khan, was working as an employee of Tiger Baby Digital and was responsible for handling and storing hard disks for several years.
During interrogation, Shahid allegedly confessed to stealing several hard drives over the past five months and selling 24 of them to a Borivali-based man named Ritesh for approximately Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 each. Ritesh is currently on the run and police teams are conducting active searches to trace him.Shahid was reportedly unable to locate the remaining missing disks, leading investigators to suspect that additional individuals may be part of a larger organized network involved in digital data theft.Police are also examining the possible role of another employee, Kalpesh Pawar, although investigators have clarified that no conclusions have been made about his involvement and the investigation is still ongoing.The incident has brought into sharp focus the state of digital security in India’s entertainment industry.