Sisters Ambika and Radha, long‑time fixtures of South Indian cinema, are locked in a legal battle after Radha lodged a police complaint alleging misuse of old cheques worth roughly 46 crore.
The drama that has long played out on screen is now spilling onto the streets of Chennai. On September 23, Radha, the younger of the two celebrated sisters, filed a formal complaint with the Chennai police commissioner alleging that Ambika tried to cash five old cheques totaling about Rs 46 crore without her consent.
Both women share a house – Ambika occupies the ground floor while Radha lives upstairs. Their joint residence also is a hub for managing studio finances, staff salaries, utility bills and other routine expenses. According to Radha’s filing, the older sister allegedly signed blank cheques and stored them in a personal drawer, later attempting to retrieve the funds through the bank.
The dispute centres on the re‑branding of their family‑owned studio. Originally called “ARS Garden”, the entity was recently renamed “RR Studio”. Radha claims the name change forced her to replace old cheques with new ones, a move she says was orchestrated to sideline her financial share.
When Ambika and her brother‑in‑law Mallikarjuna approached the bank on September 17 with the five cheques, bank officials flagged the transaction and alerted Radha. She immediately instructed the bank to freeze the payments, prompting the sisters to clash in front of the bank’s counters.
Ambika, speaking to media on the same day, dismissed the accusations as baseless. She stressed that the cheques in question were issued by her manager as part of an official settlement for studio assets and jewellery. “My hard‑earned stake in ARS Gardens is being undermined,” she said, adding that she would respect the legal process but would not make further public statements.
Radha, meanwhile, accused her sister of trying to appropriate the cash and gold jewellery that belongs to her. She alleged that Ambika had already taken several pieces and stored them at her residence, refusing to return them despite repeated requests.
The sisters have a storied past in the industry, having risen to fame in the 1980s and 1990s with a string of successful films across Kannada, Tamil and Malayalam cinema. Their on‑screen chemistry once made them a beloved duo, but the current legal wrangle threatens to tarnish that legacy.
Legal experts note that the police will likely examine the original cheque books, bank records and any correspondence between the sisters. If the cheques were signed without proper authorization, the case could involve charges of fraud and criminal breach of trust.
For now, the family dispute remains confined to the courtroom and police station. Neither side has offered a timeline for resolution, and fans are left watching a real‑life saga that mirrors the high‑stakes drama of their films.
What’s next?
The Chennai police have opened an investigation, and a court hearing is expected within the next few weeks. Until a verdict is delivered, the sisters’ studio operations are likely to stay in limbo, and the industry will be watching closely to see how this intra‑family conflict unfolds.
Stay tuned for updates as the case develops.
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