A family arrangement that dates back nearly two decades has now become the centre of a fresh dispute involving veteran actor-sisters Radha and Ambika. What was once divided between family members as separate properties has now spilt into a police complaint, with allegations involving financial transactions and access to personal documents.
Radha, who continues to be involved in the film and television industries, has alleged that the dispute goes beyond property and concerns cheques that she had kept at her residence for routine business expenses. She has claimed that some of these documents were accessed while she was away from Chennai.
The actor has now approached the Greater Chennai Police Commissioner with a complaint against her sister Ambika and their brother Mallikarjuna Kunjan Nair, alleging that signed blank cheques belonging to her were stolen and misused to attempt to obtain an estimated Rs 46 crore. The complaint was submitted on September 21.
According to Radha's complaint, she had been using an IDBI Bank current account for her business, originally operated under the name ARS Garden Studio. She said that she kept a few signed blank cheques in her room to manage expenses such as salaries, utility bills, taxes and garden maintenance when she was travelling. After subsequently changing the business name to RR Gardens in January 2025, she received a new cheque book and stopped using the older one, which she says she had eventually forgotten about.
The actor claims that she was shocked to receive a communication from her bank on September 17 informing her that five of the old cheques had been presented for encashment in Ambika's name. Radha has alleged that she immediately instructed the bank to stop payment, maintaining that she had never handed over the cheques to her sister or entered into any financial transaction with her that would require such payments.
Radha has further alleged that the cheques had been filled in by their brother Mallikarjuna, and has claimed that he and Ambika acted together to use the documents for unlawful gain. She has also alleged that the cheques were accessed from her room without her knowledge while she was away.
The complaint goes beyond the cheque issue, with Radha alleging that Ambika and Mallikarjuna have also obstructed her from accessing her portion of the property, where she says valuables, jewellery, property documents and other records are kept. She has requested the police to enquire into the allegations and initiate criminal action if the charges are established.
The allegations in the complaint are yet to be adjudicated, and the police investigation will determine the circumstances surrounding the cheques and their presentation. The latest development adds another chapter to the long-running family property issues surrounding the sisters.