Veteran Tamil actor Radha has filed a police complaint against her sister and fellow actor Ambika, as well as their brother Mallikarjuna Kunjan Nair, alleging that signed blank cheques kept at her Chennai residence were taken without her knowledge and used in an attempt to claim around Rs 46 crore.
The complaint was submitted to the Greater Chennai Police Commissioner on September 21.
According to Radha’s complaint, she maintained an IDBI Bank current account for business-related expenses and had kept a few signed blank cheques in her room at her Chennai residence.
She said the cheques were intended for routine payments such as salaries, utility bills, taxes and garden maintenance, especially when she was travelling.
Radha said the account was initially operated under the name ARS Garden Studio. After the business was renamed RR Gardens in January 2025, she received a new cheque book and stopped using the previous one.
She claimed that she had forgotten about the old signed cheques that were still kept at her residence.
According to Radha, the issue came to her notice on September 17, when her bank informed her that five of the old cheques had been presented for encashment in Ambika’s name for a total amount of Rs 46 crore.
Radha said she immediately instructed the bank to stop payment, maintaining that she had neither issued the cheques to Ambika nor entered into any financial transaction with her that justified such a claim.
The actor further alleged that the details on the cheques had been filled in by their brother Mallikarjuna.
In her complaint, Radha accused Ambika and Mallikarjuna of acting together in an attempt to misuse the cheques for financial gain.
She also alleged that the cheques had been accessed from her room while she was away from Chennai.
The complaint also raises a separate dispute over access to family property.
Radha alleged that she has been prevented from entering the property for nearly a year and a half.
She claimed that jewellery, valuables, property documents and other important records belonging to her are still kept there.
Radha has requested the police to investigate the allegations and initiate criminal action if wrongdoing is established.
The allegations remain unproven at this stage, and the circumstances surrounding the cheques and their presentation are expected to be examined during the police investigation.
Radha made her acting debut with Bharathiraja’s Alaigal Oivathillai in 1981 and went on to become one of the leading heroines of Tamil cinema in the 1980s.
She worked with stars including Chiranjeevi, Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth, Balakrishna and Nagarjuna.
Ambika, Radha’s elder sister, began her career earlier and emerged as a prominent actor in Malayalam, Tamil and Kannada cinema.
The two sisters also appeared together in several films, including Enkeyo Ketta Kural, Vellai Roja, Idhaya Kovil, Manakanakku, Kadhal Parisu and Annanagar Mudhal Theru.