Veteran South Indian Actor Radha Files Police Complaint Against Siblings Over Alleged Rs 50 Crore Cheque Fraud

Veteran South Indian film actor Udayachandrika, widely known by her screen name Radha, has approached the Greater Chennai Police Commissioner with a formal criminal complaint against her sister, actress Ambika Nair, and their brother, Mallikarjuna Kunjan Nair. The petition alleges that her siblings conspired to misappropriate old, invalidated business cheques and attempted to encash instruments totaling nearly Rs 50 crore without her knowledge or consent.

Radha acted in over two hundred films across Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada, and won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress in Tamil for Muthal Mariyathai. Ambika headlined major commercial blockbusters in Tamil and Malayalam cinema, including Andha 7 Naatkal, Sagakala Vallavan, Kaakki Sattai, and Rajavinte Makan.

According to details cited in reporting by Press Trust of India and other outlets, the dispute centers around an IDBI Bank branch in Porur. Radha stated that she received an automated email alert from the institution on September 17 informing her that five high-value checks had been presented in Ambika's name. The instruments carried figures of Rs 11 lakh, Rs 13.17 crore, Rs 27.73 crore, Rs 7 crore, and Rs 1.79 crore.

Radha maintained that she immediately instructed the bank to halt payment upon discovering the transactions, asserting that no legally enforceable debt or financial transaction existed between her and her sister. In her petition, she explained that the instruments originated from a 50-leaf check book issued in 2022 for her enterprise, which operated under the name ARS Garden Studio.

The business registration was officially transitioned to RR Gardens under Goods and Services Tax regulations in January 2025, prompting her to acquire a new check book. Radha stated that she considered the older financial stationery invalid and kept them aside as scrap within her Valasaravakkam residence, where she lived on the ground floor.

The actor alleged that her brother Mallikarjuna, also known as Arjun Nair, filled in the handwritten details on the instruments. Her complaint further claimed that Mallikarjuna faces active financial liabilities under the Foreign Exchange Management Act of 1999, placing him under pressure to satisfy a penalty stemming from a 2025 Madras High Court proceeding.

Radha stated that because of frequent business travels, she routinely kept five or six signed blank checks in her room for maintenance overhead and staff salaries during her absence. She noted that Ambika shared living quarters on the ground floor and held access to her personal rooms based on familial trust.

Beyond the banking dispute, Radha alleged in her petition that she has been barred from inspecting personal valuables and critical documents stored in the same living quarters, including gold and diamond jewelry alongside property title papers.

Through her legal filing, the actor has requested law enforcement authorities to investigate the alleged conspiracy and initiate criminal proceedings against her siblings under applicable provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Representatives for Ambika have reportedly denied the allegations, claiming the documents were provided voluntarily to settle ongoing family property disputes, with further legal actions anticipated as police review the petition.

Aggrieved property occupants can pursue civil remedies by filing suits for permanent and temporary injunction under the Specific Relief Act and the Code of Civil Procedure to restrain unlawful interference with possession. Real estate accounts for a substantial percentage of Indian household wealth, and property disputes represent a significant proportion of all civil cases in Indian courts.

According to the Greater Chennai Police, the allegations remain subject to ongoing verification and formal inquiry.