Director Alleppey Ashraf regretted the public airing of grievances between Ambika and Radha-once leading stars of South Indian cinema-regarding the massive fortune built through the hard work of their mother, Kallara Sarasamma. He shared these views via his YouTube channel.

Alleppey Ashraf:

"Actresses Ambika and Radha were the reigning stars of South Indian cinema. Today, these sisters are making headlines-for odd reasons. They are publicly trading accusations. Yet, as they squabble over vast fortunes, they overlook one crucial thing: the history of sacrifice and hard work endured by their loving mother, Kallara Sarasamma.

Ambika truly ascended the ladder of success through hardship, hard work, and sacrifice. In contrast, her younger sister Radha entered the film industry, benefiting from most of her elder sister's fame and recognition. In a sense, one could even say that without Ambika, there would have been no Radha.

Radha made her debut as the female lead opposite Karthik in the film Alaigal Oivathillai directed by Bharathiraja. The movie was an all-time blockbuster. Radha's career changed, and she never had to look back. At one point, these sisters dominated the Tamil film industry, starring alongside all the top heroes in both Tamil and Telugu cinema. Their mother, Sarasamma, never let their success lead to excessive elation or arrogance.

One distinctive trait of Sarasamma Chechi's character was her habit of accumulating land; no matter how much she acquired, she was never satisfied. She would promptly invest the earnings from her children's acting work into purchasing land rather than letting the money go to waste. Her youngest son, Suresh, had starred in one of my films, and I still remember him telling me about his mother's passion for buying up land.

When Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, Sarassamma studied the location in detail and had foresight. She predicted that the area would see significant development and that land prices-very low at that time-would likely skyrocket. Acting on this insight, she went there and purchased acres of land. She acquired properties in various locations across both Kerala and Tamil Nadu in this manner.' These accumulated properties have now grown into assets worth thousands of crores; this is where we must appreciate her foresight.

It is during this time that Radha came forward alleging that her siblings siphoned Rs 46 crores from her through cheque fraud. However, there is a crucial fact to be understood here: not a single paisa-let alone 46 crore rupees-was ever withdrawn from Radha's account. This was even confirmed by her husband, Rajashekharan. The media picked up the stories Radha told and sensationalised them, severely damaging Ambika's reputation. Yet, in a dramatic turn reminiscent of a movie climax, Ambika appeared and completely demolished Radha's claims.

The petty squabble that should have stayed within the walls of the family has now turned into a debate on social media. If the siblings had remembered their mother -the very person responsible for the immense prosperity of the family - they would not have dared to go ahead with this mudslinging. If Radha had shown a bit more maturity, the situation would not have deteriorated to this extent. Let the courts and the police establish the truth."