Actor Radha on Monday, September 21, filed a complaint with the Greater Chennai Police Commissioner against her elder sister, actor Ambika, and their brother, Mallikarjuna Kunjan Nair, alleging that signed blank cheques belonging to her were taken from her residence and misused in an attempt to claim around Rs 46 crore.
Radha has alleged that the issue is linked to a wider family dispute over property and financial transactions. She said that she had kept a few signed blank cheques in her room for routine business expenses, such as salaries, utility bills, taxes, and garden maintenance, particularly when she was travelling.
Radha said she maintained a current account with IDBI Bank for her business, which 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 old one. She said she subsequently forgot about the unused cheques that remained at her residence.
Radha said the bank informed her on September 17 that five of the old cheques had been presented for encashment in Ambika’s name, involving a total of around Rs 46 crore. She said she immediately instructed the bank to stop payment on the cheques.
She alleged that she had never handed over the cheques to Ambika and had not entered into any financial transaction with her that would warrant such payments.
Radha further alleged that the cheques had been filled out by her brother, Mallikarjuna, and claimed that Ambika and Mallikarjuna had acted together in attempting to use them for unlawful financial gain. She also alleged that the cheques were accessed from her room while she was away from Chennai.
The complaint also refers to a dispute over family property. Radha has alleged that she has been prevented from entering the property for around one-and-a-half years, and that valuables, jewellery, property documents, and other records are kept there.
Radha has sought a police investigation into the allegations and criminal action if the charges are established. The allegations in the complaint have not been adjudicated.
Radha and Ambika were prominent actresses in Tamil cinema during the 1980s and have acted alongside leading stars, including Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan. Radha made her acting debut in Bharathiraja’s Alaigal Oivathillai in 1981 and went on to act in films including Muthal Mariyathai, Amman Kovil Kizhakale, Mella Thirandhathu Kadhavu, and Rajadhi Raja.
Ambika has acted extensively in Malayalam, Tamil, and Kannada cinema. The sisters have also appeared together in films including Enkeyo Ketta Kural, Vellai Roja, Idhaya Kovil, Manakanakku, Kadhal Parisu, and Annanagar Mudhal Theru.