Man alleges Baburaj and Vani Vishwanath cheated him of Rs 3 crore, actor-director rubbishes claims

A Thrissur-based resident Riyas had filed a police complaint against actors Baburaj and Vani Vishwanath, alleging that they had embezzled funds worth Rs 3.14 crore to produce the movie Koodasha. The man had mentioned in his police complaint that the couple misled him to believe that film production was a profitable business but he had not received any profit from the venture.

The complaint stated that they got acquainted in 2017 and Riyas had transferred the first fund of Rs 30 lakh through his bank branch in Ottappalam and paid the rest in instalments later. Police have registered the case and informed that a probe has been initiated on the grounds of cheating.

Meanwhile, Baburaj took to his social networking page to dismiss Riyas’ claims, citing that they are “false allegations”. The actor said that Koodasha, which is helmed by Sinu Thomas and was produced by Riyas and Omar, was shot in Munnar and the entire food and accommodation for the team was taken care of by the actor in his resort at the hill station.

The producers had then transferred an amount below Rs 80 lakh to the resort’s account as expenditure, he mentions. “The movie was a failure. I didn’t take my salary for acting in it,” he said. Baburaj also wrote that the producers hadn’t reimbursed him for the food and accommodation as they said they would take care of it after the film’s release.

The actor also alleged that as the producers had faced a problem with getting police clearance certificate, they had asked Baburaj to mention his production banner’s name VB Creations in the film’s posters and he had spent Rs 18 lakh for that.

Baburaj also wrote that he had tried to sell the film’s satellite rights but couldn’t do it, and this apparently infuriated the producers. After their demands turned into threats, he said he had filed a case with Aluva SP office and has all the required documents to prove this. “Now, they have also dragged Vani’s name into this… This is a fake case and I will approach the court against this,” he said, adding that he knows the people who are behind this and that he will stand strong in what he believes in.