Malayalam director arrested following producer’s complaint

The Hill Palace police in Kochi on Wednesday arrested a filmmaker on charges of criminal breach of trust. Shamsudheen, who directed the film Abhilasham, was arrested based on a complaint filed by the film’s producer, Ann Sariga Antony, a resident of Nadama, near Thripunithura.

Ms. Antony, the managing partner of Second Show Productions, alleged that she suffered losses amounting to ₹4 crore due to the actions of the director and others associated with the project.

According to the First Information Report (FIR), dated February 2, 2026, the director had assured the producer that the film could be completed within a budget of ₹2.25 crore. However, the complainant alleged that the production was deliberately delayed, causing an additional expenditure of ₹1 crore. It has also been alleged that hard disks containing the film’s final work were misused and the completed master print was taken into the director’s possession, with the assistance of others, without the producer’s consent. As per the FIR, the complainant has claimed this caused direct financial loss of ₹97 lakh and an anticipated business loss of ₹2 crore.

The accused have been charged with criminal breach of trust, cheating and criminal intimidation as well as under relevant sections of The Copy Right Act and Cinematograph Act.

Crew members Mohammed Bilal, Mohammed Salman, Bilal Rasheed and Nimal Naseer, and distribution company Qube Cinema Technologies have also been named accused in the case.