Mollywood filmmaker Jude Anthany Joseph accuses Antony Varghese of cheating
What's the story
Mollywood filmmaker Jude Anthany Joseph, who is currently basking in the success of his recently released film 2018, is making headlines.
In a recent interview, the director made shocking revelations about actor Antony Varghese, popularly known as Pepe.
Joseph accused Varghese of cheating him of Rs. 10 lakh and shared his thoughts on the drug abuse scandal currently rocking the Malayalam film industry.
Accusation
The filmmaker made startling accusations against Varghese
The filmmaker claimed that Varghese backed out of a project just 18 days before the shooting was set to commence.
"There was a film I was supposed to produce. It was directed by one of my associates. Varghese took an advance of Rs. 10 lakh from the film's co-producer for his sister's wedding, and 18 days before the film's commencement, he opted out."
Statement
'Biggest problem is not drugs, but the lack of humanity…'
"People like Shane Nigam and Srinath Bhasi have been accused of consuming drugs. I, however, would say the biggest problem is not drugs, but the lack of humanity, and the audacity to show filth," elaborated Joseph.
Further, the director also claimed that there are a lot of people like Pepe in the industry who took advance payments and apparently never fulfilled their work commitments.
Details
'Varghese is such an unqualified person…'
In the same interview, the director extensively discussed how there are more people like Pepe in the industry.
Citing an example of deceit, Joseph said, "Varghese returned the money much later. Many such unqualified people are there in the industry. Varghese is such an unqualified person. If Pellissery hadn't brought him here, there wouldn't have been any need to tolerate people like Varghese."
Box office
Meanwhile, Joseph's '2018' is on a record-breaking spree
Helmed by Joseph, the Malayalam film 2018, was released in theaters last Friday (May 5), and within five days of its release, it surprised everyone by minting Rs. 40 crore at the worldwide box office.
With these numbers, Joseph's directorial is likely to emerge as the second Malayalam film to have an incredible theatrical run this year after Romancham by filmmaker Jithu Madhavan.