Odiyan director VA Shrikumar Menon arrested

Filmmaker VA Shrikumar Menon has been arrested for financial fraud. Alappuzha South police arrested Menon from his residence in Palakkad last night. Sreevalsam Group had filed a complaint against him alleging that he had taken Rs 1 crore from them for film production. But later, there were no response from his side. Even after repeated enquiries, the director failed to respond, which forced the company to move legally. Though Menon had tried to get an advanced bail in this case, the court had dismissed it.

Shrikumar Menon became a popular name after he made his directorial debut with the Mohanlal starrer ‘Odiyan’. The film was released amidst unprecedented hype but it failed to please the majority. The director had to face a lot of backlash including cyber bullying. He had also announced the big screen adaptation of ‘Randamoozham’ with Mohanlal. But with the project getting delayed for over two years, MT Vasudevan Nair filed a complaint seeking the script back.

Recently, Menon had announced a pan-Indian film titled ‘Mission Konkan’. It is based on the heroic tales of Mappila Khalasis when our nation’s security was threatened and the film’s focus will be on the backdrop of Konkan Railways. Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award winner TD Ramakrishnan, best known for his bsst-selling novels ‘Francis Itty Cora’ and ‘Sugandhi Enna Andal Devanayaki, is scripting the film. The director had claimed that leading stars from film industries across the country will be part of the cast.