The producers of the recent Malayalam blockbuster film Manjummel Boys have been booked by the Kerala police for alleged cheating and conspiracy. The Maradu police, on Wednesday, April 24, registered a case against actor-producer Soubin Shahir, Shawn Antony, and Babu Shahir, based on a court petition by Siraj Valiyathara, one of the film's investors.
Siraj, who hails from Kerala’s Aroor, filed a petition at the Ernakulam First Class Magistrate court, claiming that the makers of Manjummel Boys — Parava Films and partner Shawn Antony — guaranteed him a 40% profit share upon the film’s release, leading him to invest Rs 7 crores. In his petition, he said that the producers did not give him any money, not even the amount he had invested, despite the film being a huge success.
Siraj claims that he was approached by the active partners of M/s Parava Films LLP to invest in the film which stars Soubin Shahir, Sreenath Bhasi, Deepak Parambol, and other actors. Based on the producers’ promises, he and Parava Films signed a contract on November 30, 2022, wherein he agreed to invest a total of Rs 7 crores in the production over the course of several installments.
Siraj also claims he was misled into thinking that a total of Rs 22 crores had been invested in the film, but in reality, only less than Rs 10 crores had been invested, of which he contributed Rs 7 crores.
Shawn Antony, Soubin Shahir, and Babu Shahir have reportedly been booked under Sections 120b (criminal conspiracy), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Speaking to TNM, police confirmed that a case has been registered and said that an investigation is underway at the moment.
Manjummel Boys, directed by Chidambaram S Poduval, is a Malayalam survival thriller that became a huge hit recently. The film is said to have made an impressive Rs 250 crores from the box office, OTT platforms, and satellite rights.