Case filed against actor Nivin Pauly, director Abrid Shine for alleged financial fraud

The complainant has alleged that as ’Mahaveeryar’ was not a commercial success, Pauly had offered to pay him Rs 95 lakh.

A case has been registered against Malayalam actor Nivin Pauly and director Abrid Shine following a complaint by a native of Thalayolaparambu here accusing them of financial fraud, police said on Thursday.

An FIR under section 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) of the IPC was registered on Wednesday night against Pauly and Shine on the complaint by P S Shamnas, who was the co-producer of the actor’s 2022 film ’Mahaveeryar’.

The complainant has alleged that as ’Mahaveeryar’ was not a commercial success, Pauly had offered to pay him Rs 95 lakh. Subsequently, the actor also promised to make him a partner in his upcoming film ’Action Hero Biju 2’, directed by Shine, and made him spend around Rs 1.9 crore for shooting of the movie, Shamnas has alleged in his complaint.

The movie was also registered as being made under the banner of Shamnas’s company — Indian Movie Makers — the complaint claimed.

However, Pauly and Shine allegedly entered into a Rs 5 crore distribution arrangement of the film with a Dubai-based firm on the basis of an earlier contract, which showed that the movie was being made under the actor’s production house, Shamnas has alleged.

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He contended that in this manner, by hiding the fact that the movie was registered under his company’s banner, the two cheated him of Rs 1.90 crore. Neither Pauly nor Shine has reacted to the allegations yet.