Film producer hangs to death blames loan shark

A month after self-immolation by a four-member family in front of the Tirunelveli Collector's office following harassment by a money lender, a Tamil film producer committed suicide at his house on Wednesday here blaming a Madurai-based film financier, who charged exorbitant interest for the loans which pushed the producer to take the extreme step.

The alleged suicide of Ashok Kumar has shocked the movie industry, bringing back grim memories of the alleged suicide of well-known producer G Venkateswaran alias GV, brother of renowned film director Mani Ratnam.

Kumar, who was a relative of well-known actor-director M Sasikumar, was found hanging in his apartment in Chennai on Tuesday. In his suicide note, Kumar blamed film financier Anbuchezhian for charging exorbitant interest on loans given to his production company.

"The most sinful act I committed was to borrow loan from Anbuchezhian . He charged more than the interest rates over the last seven years. However, over the last six months, Anbuchezhian insulted and humiliated me. He sent his people home to threaten elders and women in my family (sic)," Kumar's suicide note read. Stating that he was neither a coward nor a selfish person, he wrote, "I had only two options. One was to kill, and the other was to commit suicide. If I had to kill, the family will have to suffer. So, I chose the latter (sic)."