22 November,2017 11:04 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Tamil film producer-director B Ashok Kumar, relative of director-actor Sasikumar, reportedly committed suicide in his house in Alwarthirunagar, Chennai on Tuesday. In his suicide note, Ashok Kumar reportedly blamed a film financier for the step
Film producer-director Ashok Kumar commits suicide after being harassed by financier
Tamil film producer-director B Ashok Kumar, relative of director-actor Sasikumar, reportedly committed suicide in his house in Alwarthirunagar, Chennai on Tuesday. In his suicide note, Ashok Kumar reportedly blamed a film financier for forcing him to end his life. Ashok Kumar reportedly committed suicide by hanging himself in his multi-storeyed apartment at Arcot Road. His eight-page suicide note, Ashok Kumar accused Anbuvheziyan, a Madurai-based film financier, of charging high interest for taking loans and described how he has been paying interest to him for the past seven years.
Ashok Kumar. Pic/YouTube
The suicide note also stated how for the last six months, Ashok Kumar was harassed and threatened by the financier, who claimed to have political clout and had influence in the police and film circuit.
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India Today quoted Sasikumar as saying, "He (Ashok Kumar) has been my shadow and had been with me in all my steps. He was under extreme financial pressure."
The website also quoted director Ameer blaming Anbucheziyanfor the death of Ashok Kumar. Ameer told the web portal, "He was paying interest and interest for interest. How much embarrassment can he take?" He further said, "Only in cinema everybody can speak like heroes but in reality we are all struggling. You want the interest and at the same time, you block the release of the movie. Producers council must sit and talk about these issues or else it would lose it purpose."
India Today also quoted a personality from the industry without revealing the identity as saying, "The involvement of loans sharks providing finance to Kollywood producers has always been a serious issue which the state government had conveniently avoided to tackle as big profile players are involved. Even this matter will pass away silently."
The Valasaravakkam Police has sent the body to the Government Royapettah Hospital for postmortem. Reportedly, a case under Section 306 (abetment of suicide) of the IPC has been registered against the financier.
Ashok Kumar had co-produced films of Sasikumar including Eesan, Poraali and the yet-to-be-released Kodi Veeran.
