CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Thursday asked actor Prabhu to lend a helping hand to his brother Ramkumar to repay the defaulted loan and recover it from him later so that the dispute over it could be solved. However, the counsel for Prabhu replied in the negative, stating that his client was not in a position to shoulder the burden, as his brother had borrowed money from several people.
Justice Abdul Quddhose posed the query during the hearing on the petitions relating to the default on loan repayment by Ramkumar, his son Dusshyanth Ramkumar, and daughter in law Abirami Dusshyanth, and the petition filed by Prabhu seeking to recall the court’s earlier order for attachment of a part of the bungalow bequeathed by his late father and iconic actor Sivaji Ganesan at T Nagar.
He informed the court that Ramkumar does not have any share in the bungalow and Prabhu is the sole owner. Prabhu has never borrowed money from any one, the counsel told the court. The counsel pointed out that the order was for attaching the property worth Rs 150 crore for an actual loan amount of Rs 3.5 crore. The case was adjourned to April 7.
Justice Quddhose, on February 10, passed the order for attaching the property in the case schedule extending to 13,310 sq.ft. out of 22 grounds and 440 sq.ft. bungalow and plot.
The matter pertains to Rs 3.7 crore borrowed by Eshan Productions, owned by Dusshyanth and Abirami Dusshyanth from Dhanabakkiam Enterprises in 2017 for meeting the expenses for the production of the movie ‘Jagajala Killadi’.
When the money was not returned as per the agreement, the lender approached the court and an arbitrator was appointed. On May 5, 2024, he passed an order for payment of Rs 9 crore including interest. However, this order was not complied with. Dhanabakkiam Enterprises filed the execution petition seeking orders for attachment of properties as the judgment-debtors owe Rs 9.4 crore.