Saxena cheated me of Rs1.6 crore: producer

CHENNAI: Sun Pictures chief operating officer Hansraj Saxena is in for more trouble. On Tuesday, film director, producer and distributor C Sakthi Chidambaram charged Saxena with cheating him of Rs1.6 crore in the allotment of theatrical rights of Rajini-starrer movie Enthiran. He also accused former DMK MLA V Sekhar Babu and his kin of grabbing Rs5 crore-worth land belonging to his relatives.The distributor met Greater Chennai police commissioner J K Tripathy and lodged separate complaints against both persons.     In his plea, Chidambaram claimed that he had acquired the rights to release Enthiran, produced by Sun Pictures, in eight theatres in Chengalpattu after talks with Saxena. Chidambaram said he paid `4 crore to Suresh, who was operating ‘Blue Sky’ agency. “However, I was given theatrical rights for only seven theatres… the rights for ‘Vidya’ theatre in Tambaram, which records a higher revenue collection than others, was withheld in violation of the agreement,” he alleged.When he threatened to file a police complaint, Saxena, his associate Iyyappan and Suresh threatened him with dire consequences. “After the film’s release, I suffered a loss of Rs1.6 crore,” he said in his petition. “When I met them again and pleaded my case, they threatened me.”  The distributor has sought police assistance in recovering the losses.In a second complaint, Chidambaram alleged that former DMK MLA V Sekhar Babu and his brother’s son J Dinakaran, an usurer, cheated him of the collection amount of Enthiran and grabbing the land belonging to his close relatives.“On learning about my acquisition of film’s theatrical rights, Dinakaran met me in my office at Saligramam…He said his uncle Sekhar Babu had several crores at his disposal and wanted to meet me, as he was interested in entering the film business,” he said. “Sekhar Babu asked me to divide the theatrical rights for Chengalpattu and promised to pay his share of Rs 2 crore. After a few days, Dinakaran came to my house and asked my wife and me to sign a few blank sheets,” he alleged.Dinakaran took charge of the revenue and expenditure in connection with the film and did not reveal them even after two weeks after its release, he added.Also, Chidambaram’s son-in-law and his two brothers owned 23.5 cents of prime land in Tiruvallur and had pledged the property for Rs 85 lakh and vested Dinakaran with the power of attorney to sell it.  However, at the registrar’s office in Tiruvallur, he was shocked when the sale amount was shown as Rs 55 lakh. Questioned about it, Dinakaran was evasive, put off paying the rest of the amount and threatened him.On Monday, he visited Dinakaran’s office hoping for a compromise, but was abused and assaulted, Chidambaram claimed. He demanded the recovery of his property, revenue and protection for his family members.