Radha Files Complaint Against Sister Ambika Over Alleged ₹46 Crore Cheque Misuse; Ambika Denies Charges

Veteran actor Radha has approached the Greater Chennai Police Commissioner with a complaint against her sister and fellow actor Ambika and their brother Mallikarjuna Kunjan Nair, alleging that old signed cheques kept at her Chennai residence were accessed and presented for payment without her permission.

The complaint, filed on September 21, concerns five old cheques that Radha says were presented in Ambika’s name for an amount reported by several publications as approximately ₹46 crore. Radha says she immediately asked her bank to stop the transactions after receiving an alert about the cheques.

The matter, however, is disputed. Ambika has rejected Radha’s allegations and has given a different account of why the cheques were issued, saying they were connected to a settlement arising from a long-running family dispute.

With both sisters offering conflicting versions, the allegations should not be treated as an established finding of fraud. The police inquiry is still developing.

How the cheque dispute came to light

According to Radha’s complaint, she maintained a current account with IDBI Bank for business-related expenses associated with ARS Garden Studio.

She says that, because she frequently travelled, she kept several signed blank cheques at her residence to deal with routine expenses such as employee salaries, utility bills, taxes and garden maintenance.

The business was subsequently renamed RR Gardens in January 2025. Radha says she obtained a new cheque book after the change and stopped using the older one, eventually forgetting that some of the previously signed cheques remained at her home.

According to the complaint, Radha was alerted by her bank on September 17 that five of those older cheques had been presented for encashment in Ambika’s name.

Radha has said she had not handed the cheques to her sister and had not entered into a financial arrangement that would justify the payments. She then instructed the bank to stop payment.

What Radha has alleged

Radha has alleged that the cheques were taken from her room while she was away from Chennai.

She further alleges that her brother Mallikarjuna filled in the details on the cheques and that he and Ambika acted together in attempting to use them.

The complaint also extends beyond the cheque issue. Radha has alleged that she has faced difficulties accessing her portion of a family property and that valuables, jewellery, property documents and other records connected with the property remain there.

The News Minute reported that Radha has asked the police to investigate the allegations and take criminal action if the accusations are established.

These remain allegations contained in a police complaint. They have not been adjudicated by a court.

Why reports differ on the amount involved

There is an important discrepancy in the amount being reported.

Several reports, based on Radha’s complaint, describe the alleged transaction as involving approximately ₹46 crore. However, another account published by Gulf News lists five cheque amounts as ₹11 lakh, ₹13.17 crore, ₹27.73 crore, ₹7 crore and ₹1.79 crore, which together total approximately ₹50.8 crore.

Because the publicly reported figures are inconsistent, The Celebrity Hour is using the approximately ₹46 crore figure in the headline and main reference to the complaint, while flagging the discrepancy rather than presenting ₹50.8 crore as an independently established amount.

Ambika disputes Radha’s version

Ambika has publicly rejected the allegations.

According to Onmanorama, Ambika said the five cheques were not stolen or improperly obtained. She claimed that Radha had voluntarily issued them as part of a settlement between the sisters connected to their wider dispute.

A separate report from News Today also quoted Ambika as saying that there was no truth in Radha’s complaint. Ambika reportedly said the family dispute involved land, business interests and gold and that she had previously approached the police concerning the broader dispute.

Ambika's account therefore directly conflicts with Radha's allegation that the cheques were taken from her residence and misused.

That disagreement is central to the developing case. At this stage, neither side's version should be presented as a judicially established fact.

A dispute that goes beyond the cheques

The allegations appear to be part of a much wider family disagreement involving property and business interests.

Ambika has referred to disputes concerning the ARS Gardens property and business interests, while Radha's complaint raises concerns about access to property and documents.

Onmanorama reported that Ambika has claimed the dispute involves, among other matters, a share of land connected with the ARS property and business interests in ARS Garden Studios. She also referred to other legal proceedings connected with the family's property dispute.

This broader context is important because the cheque allegations are not being raised in isolation. Both sides are presenting the disputed transactions as part of a longer-running family and property conflict.

Radha and Ambika’s connection to South Indian cinema

The dispute has attracted considerable attention partly because Radha and Ambika were among the prominent sister duos of South Indian cinema during the 1980s.

Radha made her film debut in Bharathiraja's Alaigal Oivathillai in 1981 and subsequently appeared in films including Muthal Mariyathai, Amman Kovil Kizhakale, Mella Thirandhathu Kadhavu and Rajadhi Raja.

Ambika established a career across Malayalam, Tamil and Kannada cinema, with films including Neelathamara, Andha 7 Naatkal, Vazhvey Maayam, Rajavinte Makan and Mr Bharath among her credits.

The sisters also appeared together in several films, including Enkeyo Ketta Kural, Vellai Roja, Idhaya Kovil, Manakanakku, Kadhal Parisu and Annanagar Mudhal Theru.

Their shared history in the film industry makes the current dispute particularly notable, but their professional relationship should not be confused with the legal status of the allegations now being investigated.

What happens next?

The immediate question is what the police investigation establishes about the five cheques, how they came into Ambika's possession, who filled in the details and whether the transactions were connected to an underlying settlement or were used without Radha's consent.

The competing accounts mean that the documentary evidence surrounding the cheques, banking records and any relevant property or settlement documents could become important to the inquiry.

For now, the available information establishes that Radha has filed a complaint and Ambika has denied the allegations. It does not establish that either the alleged fraud or Ambika's counterclaims have been proven.

The Celebrity Hour Take

The significant development here is not simply the amount attached to the disputed cheques. It is the fact that a long-running family disagreement involving two well-known actors has now entered a formal police process, with the two sisters offering fundamentally different explanations for the same financial documents.

Radha's complaint frames the cheques as old signed documents allegedly accessed without her consent. Ambika's response presents them as instruments voluntarily issued as part of an attempted settlement.

That distinction will matter as the matter develops.

For readers, the most responsible way to understand the story at this stage is to separate the complaint from proof. A police complaint records allegations and triggers investigation; it does not by itself establish criminal liability.

The Celebrity Hour will therefore treat the ₹46 crore figure and the alleged cheque misuse as allegations attributed to Radha, while also recording Ambika's denial and alternative explanation.

The Bottom Line

Radha has filed a complaint against her sister Ambika and brother Mallikarjuna over five disputed cheques and alleged financial misuse involving approximately ₹46 crore.

Ambika has denied Radha's allegations and claimed that the cheques were voluntarily issued as part of a settlement connected to their wider family dispute.

The matter remains under investigation, and the allegations have not been adjudicated by a court. Further developments from the police inquiry or any subsequent legal proceedings will be necessary before the competing claims can be independently established.

Sources & Verification

The central allegations were treated as claims contained in Radha's police complaint, while Ambika's response was separately incorporated to avoid presenting either side's allegations as established fact. The discrepancy between the reported ₹46 crore and the higher total obtained by adding individually reported cheque amounts has also been explicitly flagged.