Latha Rajinikanth has been directed to inform the top court by July 10 if she is planning to pay the dues
Six months after actor-turned-politician Rajinikanth's wife Latha was told to pay Rs 6.20 crore due to an advertising agency, she was pulled up again by the Supreme Court for failing to do so. The bench asked her today why the money wasn't paid and said, "If you don't pay, then be ready to face trial."
The advertising agency had given Rs 10 crore to Ms Latha's entertainment company -- she is one of the directors -- during the post-production of the 2014 Tamil film "Kochadaiyaan". The firm is yet to clear the outstanding amount of Rs 6.20 crore.
The court, in February, had given Mediaone Global Entertainment Ltd three months to pay the dues to AD-Bureau Advertising Pvt Ltd. And if the company defaulted, it said, Ms Latha was supposed to pay the amount as per the undertaking given by her.
Ms Latha has been directed to inform the court by July 10 if she is planning to pay the dues.
The advertising agency had approached the top court against the March 10, 2016 order of the Karnataka High Court that cancelled the proceedings against Ms Latha, which were initiated after the trial court had asked the police to investigate the case.
The advertising agency had said that they got involved with the project on Ms Latha's personal guarantee and had pumped in Rs 10 crore. The Mediaone Global Entertainment Ltd was to refund Rs 10 crore along with Rs 1.2 crore which was promised as "guaranteed profit".
The Tamil period-drama "
Kochadaiyaan", which marked the directorial debut of the superstar's daughter Soundarya, cost Rs 125 crore. It was promoted as India's first motion capture photo-realistic 3D animated film.