Bengaluru/Mumbai: Sandalwood actor Dhruva Sarja is facing allegations of fraud in connection with an eight-year-old film agreement for a project titled Soldier. According to the complaint, Mumbai-based director Raghavendra Hegde had allegedly paid an advance to Dhruva years ago with the understanding that the film would be made in Kannada. However, the project failed to materialise, sparking a legal dispute.
Sources said that Mumbai’s Amboli Police have registered an FIR following a court notice issued on June 10, 2025. The director claims he initially planned the movie in Tamil or Telugu, but agreed to Dhruva’s insistence on making it in Kannada first. When the plan shifted towards non-Kannada versions, the dispute intensified over whether the advance should be returned.
Dhruva Sarja, who is currently busy with the shooting of the film KD, has not personally commented, but his close aides have issued a clarification. They claim that discussions about the film have been ongoing since the advance was paid and that a reply has already been sent to the June 10 legal notice.
The aides stressed that the disagreement centres on language preference, not an intent to cheat. “Our stand has always been to make the film in Kannada first. The director was free to proceed in other languages later, but returning the advance without mutual agreement was never part of the original terms,” the clarification stated.
With the matter now before the court, both parties are preparing for the next legal step. The controversy has drawn attention in the Kannada film industry, with fans closely watching how the dispute unfolds — especially since it touches on the sensitive issue of prioritising Kannada cinema.
