Pawan Kumar himself has spoken openly about piracy. In a 2022 interview, he said: "I didn't make Lucia for money. But I need money to make my next Lucia. If you steal the first one, you are killing the second one before it is born."
Lucia is credited with inspiring a generation of independent filmmakers in Karnataka to prioritize original scripts over formulaic "masala" movies. Lucia (2013) - IMDb Lucia Kannada Movie Movierulz