Financial fraud case; Director of ‘Abhilasham’ arrested on producer’s complaint

KOCHI: The director of the Malayalam film ‘Abhilasham’ was arrested in a financial fraud case. The Tripunithura police arrested Shamsudeen known as Shamzu Zayba last night. He was arrested on the complaint of the film’s producer Ann Sariga Antony. The complaint said that he took more money than the agreement for the shoot of the film. The complaint also said that he betrayed during the shoot of the film.

The director had informed the producer that the shoot of the film could be completed for Rs 2.25 crore. However, when the shooting was completed, the cost came around Rs 3.25 crore, and Ann Sariga alleged in her complaint that she was cheated and betrayed in terms of money.

Apart from Shamzu, the complaint also mentioned about five people who worked in Abhilasham. No action has been taken against anyone except the director presently. Meantime, the director responded that the producer was taking revenge on him. Shamzu Zayba told police that he had only taken the expenses for the shooting. The director informed that there was a dispute with the producer during the shooting and that she was taking revenge for this.

Information has now emerged on the disputes that broke out between the producer and the technicians during the shoot of the film over remuneration. The cinematographer had filed a complaint with FEFKA for not receiving the remuneration. The association settled this after the producer promised to pay the remuneration after the release.

Abhilasham is a film directed by Shamzu Zayba after the film 'Maniyarayile Ashokan'. Saiju Kurup and Tanvi Ram played the lead roles. The film released in 2025 received good critical acclaim but was not a big success in the theatres. However, after its release on OTT, the film gained huge audience popularity. The song 'Khalbinakame' from the film also went viral.