Since Sunday, the world of cinema and the college-admissions black market in Tamil Nadu has been buzzing with rumours about the sudden disappearance of film producer and Managing Partner of Vendhar Movies, S Madhan.
The first reports over him ‘absconding’ emerged on Sunday evening, and by Monday morning the news was all over. His sensational and tell-all ‘suicide note’, in which he says he is going to attain ‘samadhi’ in kasi, and also talks about his career as a college admissions agent for SRM group, brought the story to the fore in the media (Read the full letter here).
Now, an aspiring medical student’s parent Venkatesan has filed a complaint at the Chennai police commissioner’s office on Tuesday, alleging that Madhan is yet to return Rs 52 lakh taken from him for brokering a medical seat at SRM University.
According to the complaint, Venkatesan had paid Rs 62 lakh for a medical seat in SRM college to Madhan. But since the cut-offs were high and NEET was enforced, he asked Madhan to return the money. Madhan returned Rs. 10 lakh through his brother Sudheer, but decamped with the rest alleged the complaint.
Questions are now being raised over the extent of his links with the SRM group and his proximity with the Chancellor, Dr Pachamuthu, who is also the chief of the political party Indiya Jananayaga Katchi, a small ally of the BJP in Tamil Nadu.
Madhan was the head of Vendhar Movies, and while Dr. Pachamuthu was a regular at the studio’s gala events (pictures of the audio launch of Thillu Mullu here), it is not yet clear if either the Chancellor or his family were members of the board of Vendhar Movies. Sources close to the SRM management state that there are no direct links between Vendhar Movies and SRM group.
What could possibly tie Madhan closer to the SRM bosses is his deep involvement in the college-admissions market? Sources in SRM say that Madhan was very close to the top family, and had been in the ‘business’ for several years. He has the ear of the Chancellor and was very close to him until very recently, said a source. He started out as a college admissions agent, and over the years made his way up to enter the cinema business too. “He was also doing admissions work for other colleges,” said a source close to him.
“It is a rags-to-riches story. He was also known to be honest in his admissions work. With some projects of Vendhar Movies not being as profitable as expected, and the NEET confusion casting a shadow on the medical admissions business, he seems to have suffered a huge loss and vanished. We believe that he has just run away for now, but he could have also thought about taking the tragic step, he was a nice guy,” says a source in SRM who has been with the group for several years.
The source also adds that Madhan has also burnt a huge hole in the pockets of SRM. But will there be any official statement from SRM on this? “Unlikely,” says the source, and adds, “as far as the admissions go, he was acting like an agent. And there are no direct links with the films business.” There is however increasing pressure on SRM to provide answers since Madhan has named them openly in the letter.
Madhan says in his letter that it was due to the money he brought in that IJK was able to contest elections in Tamil Nadu and Bihar.
Meanwhile on Tuesday, Madhan’s mother and wife, Thangam and Sumalatha filed a complaint with the police commissioner in Chennai.
Actor Raghava Lawrence is also in the dock now since his movie "Mottai Siva Kettai Siva" is due to be produced by Vendhar was left hanging.
(Inputs from Ramanathan S and Divya Karthikeyan)