In a setback for Latha Rajinikanth even as her husband has made his full time political plunge, the Supreme Court on Monday directed that her company pay Rs 6.20 crore to Ad Bureau Advertising Pvt Ltd. The Supreme Court dismissed the petition filed by her company Media One which had submitted that of the pending Rs 10 crores, Rs 9.20 crores had been paid to Ad Bureau.
Ad Bureau had lent Rs 10 crore to Media One headed by Latha Rajinikanth for the post production of the animated Rajinikanth starrer Kochadaiiyaan. In a police complaint filed in November 2014, against Latha and Kochadaiiyaan producer J Murali Manohar, Ad Bureau Advertising Pvt Ltd accusing them of cheating after agreeing to provide them distribution rights rights for the movie in Tamil Nadu and also an investment of Rs 10 crore after a guarantee by Latha Rajinikanth.
In February, the Supreme Court had directed Latha Rajinikanth to pay the Rs 6.20 crore with interest within a twelve week period. As director of Media One, she undertook to be guarantor for the loan.
A bench comprising Justices Ranjan Gogoi and R Banumathi said that if the amount is not paid within the stipulated time, Latha Rajinikanth would have to pay it herself.
SC rejects M/s Media One’s impleadment application in Kochadaiyan movie finance case, Media One submitted in SC that out of pending ₹10 crore dues to Ad bureau, ₹9.2 cr paid back and just ₹80 lacs left and the dues not linked to Latha Rajinikanth
— Arvind Gunasekar (@arvindgunasekar) April 16, 2018
Kochadaiiyaan, which released in 2014, was a box-office debacle. Directed by Rajnikanth’s daughter Soundarya Rajinikanth, the film used ‘photorealistic performance capture technology’ in the film. Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone starred as the leading lady in the film. In the first weekend alone, the movie made Rs 30 crore in India and Rs 12 crore overseas. However, ticket sales nosedived after that and the movie eventually bombed at the box-office.
The apex courts order comes at a time when her husband and actor turned politician Rajinikanth has increasingly spoken about reforming the system, referring to rooting out corruption in the country.