Actor Nivin Pauly, filmmaker Abrid Shine booked in Rs 1.90 crore production dispute

Leading Malayalam actor Nivin Pauly and director Abrid Shine have been booked in a cheating case based on a complaint filed by P.S. Shamnas, a producer and native of Thalayolaparambu. Shamnas alleges that the duo swindled ₹1.90 crore through deceit. Pauly is listed as Accused No. 1 and Shine as Accused No. 2 in the FIR.

Shamnas was the co-producer of the 2022 fantasy film Mahaveeryar, in which both Pauly and Shine were production partners. The film was directed by Shine and starred Pauly in the lead. It was distributed by Pauly Jr. Pictures, a company owned by the actor.

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In his complaint, Shamnas alleges that following the financial failure of Mahaveeryar, Pauly had agreed to pay him ₹95 lakh but failed to do so. He further claims that Pauly promised to make him a co-producer in the sequel to the hit film Action Hero Biju—also directed by Shine and starring Pauly. Based on this assurance, Shamnas says he spent ₹1.90 crore in April 2024 for the film's shooting.

The complaint states that the title of the film was subsequently transferred from Abrid Shine Productions to Shamnas’ company, Indian Movie Makers, via a letter submitted to the Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce.

However, disputes later arose between Shamnas and the duo over the film’s budget. Shamnas alleges that Pauly and Shine then concealed the fact that the film was registered under his company and, by presenting an earlier agreement, misled a UAE-based firm—Home Screen Motion Pictures LLC—into believing that the rights belonged to Pauly’s company, Pauly Jr. Pictures. They allegedly sold the overseas rights for ₹5 crore and received an advance of ₹2 crore. Shamnas claims that this act caused a financial loss of ₹1.90 crore for him.

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The complainant initially approached the court with his complaint, following which the court, under Section 175(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, directed the local police to initiate an investigation.

The police have booked the actor and the director under IPC Section 406 (criminal breach of trust), IPC Section 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), and Section 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of a common intention).

Last September, a sexual assault case was filed against Pauly, but Pauly denied the allegations, calling them "baseless". The Special Investigation Team (SIT), formed in the wake of the partial disclosure of the Hema Committee report on sexual misconduct in the Malayalam film industry, investigated the case. The SIT scrutinised Pauly’s emigration details, credit card transactions, and travel records, finding no evidence to support the allegations against him. The actor was given a clean chit by the SIT, and his name was removed from the accused list by November 2024.

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