Daijiworld Media Network - Chennai
Chennai, Sep 22: Veteran Tamil actor Radha has lodged a complaint with the Greater Chennai Police Commissioner against her sister and actor Ambika and their brother Mallikarjuna Kunjan Nair, alleging that signed blank cheques kept at her Chennai residence were taken without her knowledge and presented in an attempt to claim around Rs 46 crore.
Radha submitted the complaint on September 21. According to the complaint, she maintained a current account with IDBI Bank for business-related expenses and kept a few signed blank cheques in her room to meet routine payments such as salaries, utility bills, taxes and garden maintenance, particularly when she was travelling.
The account was initially operated under the name ARS Garden Studio. Radha said that after the business was renamed RR Gardens in January 2025, she received a new cheque book and stopped using the previous one. The old cheques remained at her residence and, according to her complaint, she subsequently forgot about them.
The issue allegedly came to light on September 17, when Radha was informed by the bank that five cheques from the old cheque book had been presented for encashment in Ambika’s name. The total amount involved was around Rs 46 crore. Radha said she immediately instructed the bank to stop payment.
Radha has alleged that she never handed the cheques over to Ambika and had not entered into any financial arrangement with her that would justify payments of such a large amount. She further alleged that the cheques were filled out by their brother Mallikarjuna and that he and Ambika acted together in an attempt to use the documents for financial gain.
She has also alleged that the cheques were accessed from her room while she was away from Chennai. According to the complaint, she had not authorised their use or issued them against any debt or financial liability. DT Next reported that Radha believed the cheques were deposited by her brother into Ambika’s account.
The complaint also refers to a wider family dispute over property. Radha has alleged that she has been prevented from accessing the property for around one-and-a-half years and that valuables, jewellery, property documents and other records are kept there.
Radha has requested the police to investigate the allegations and initiate criminal action if the charges are established. The allegations in the complaint have not been adjudicated and the police investigation is expected to establish how the cheques were accessed, who filled them out and under what circumstances they were presented for payment.
Ambika has disputed Radha’s version of events. In a response reported by the Tamil edition of The Indian Express, Ambika alleged that Radha had not disclosed the complete background of the dispute. She reportedly said that the cheques were connected to a settlement between the sisters and referred to wider disputes concerning the ARS property, company ownership and tax-related matters. These claims have also not been adjudicated.
The dispute comes against the backdrop of a long association between the two sisters in South Indian cinema. Radha made her acting debut with Bharathiraja’s Alaigal Oivathillai in 1981 and went on to become one of the prominent heroines of Tamil cinema during the 1980s. Her notable films include Muthal Mariyathai, Amman Kovil Kizhakale, Mella Thirandhathu Kadhavu and Rajadhi Raja. She also worked in Telugu and Malayalam cinema.
Ambika began her career earlier and established herself across Malayalam, Tamil and Kannada cinema. Her films include Neelathamara, Rajavinte Makan, Irupatham Noottandu, Kaakki Sattai, Uyarndha Ullam and Kadhal Parisu.
The sisters also acted together in several films, including Enkeyo Ketta Kural, Vellai Roja, Idhaya Kovil, Manakanakku, Kadhal Parisu and Annanagar Mudhal Theru. The latest complaint has now brought their long-running family and property dispute into a police investigation.