Actor Karthik On The Property Dispute With His Brother

At a hastily convened press meet in Chennai yesterday, actor Karthik spoke to the media about a dispute over property with his brother. The actor accused his brother M Ganesh of manipulating his mother Sulochana into leaving him and the rest of his siblings out of her will. He also alleged that his brother had appropriated many of his father’s properties worth several crores. Some of these, Karthik said, were bought with money that he made. “The will was made in 1998 and it is in English. My mother does not know how to read, write or speak English. It is my hope that when we contest this legally, we will win.”

Karthik declared that he was pursuing this case on moral grounds and not because he needed the money. “We all lived on my father’s earnings. After he passed away, I had to step up to become the breadwinner. My brother did not have a job then. So I acted in films 24/7, while my brother took care of the finances. I trusted him. If he’d just asked me for the money, I’d have given it to him.”

The dispute began when Karthik approached his mother, Sulochana, to transfer a piece of land in Poes Garden. The actor planned to build an apartment complex on the site for the use of his family. Karthik said that his brother Ganesh agreed initially, but backtracked later on and refused to let the transfer go through. He also alleged that his brother was debt-ridded and wanted to use the Poes Garden property to settle his debts.

Earlier this week, some media outlets carried reports that Ganesh had accused Karthik and other family members of threatening him.  Addressing this, Karthik said, “I stopped myself from discussing details about this dispute because I did not want to sully the memory of my late father. But now, my family has been threatened and false accusations have been made. I’m here not for myself, but for my family.”

Karthik also claimed that he had damning video evidence and testimonials from his family against Ganesh. ” I’ve recorded conversations with Ganesh and his son where they have threatened us with bodily harm. I will make them public if he does not handover what is morally mine.”

The actor was accompanied by Somasundaram, husband of his late sister Rajeshwari. Somasundaram also echoed Karthik’s comments and added ,”Ganesh never worked for a single day in his life. It was Karthik that contributed to his family’s wealth.” Karthik said that he has instructed his legal team to initiate criminal proceedings against Ganesh if he doesn’t respond in two days. “Either, he hands over the land or I send all the information I have to the police. He will land up in jail for sure..!”

Karthik wanted to talk more about the issue, but he ran out of time. “If I have to sum it all up..then I’d say– Dharmame Vellum!”