Dhruva Sarja, one of Sandalwood’s top stars, is facing a scandalous legal trouble after he was accused of defrauding producer-director Raghvendra Hegde for a whopping amount of 9.58 crores for an unsuccessful film project. The controversy has gained so much attention, shaking the Sandalwood industry.
The Alleged Fraud: Expensive Film Deal Gone Awry
In 2016, Dhruva Sarja came to Hegde after the success of the film Jaggu Dada made by Hegde and approached him for working on a project called The Soldier. As given in the FIR lodged in Mumbai’s Amboli police against Sarja, he is said to have asked Hegde to give him ₹3.15 crore in cash from around June 2018 to March 2021, claiming to buy a flat using the money.
Basing on the promises from Sarja, Hegde took loans at exorbitant interest rates for making the payments to Sarja. With 18% interest since 2018 accumulated, he places his loss at ₹9.58 crore now. Although the agreement was signed on February 21, 2019, for shooting 80 days in 2020, it never saw the light of day, allegedly because Sarja evaded promises made after the COVID lockdown.
Defense by Dhruva Sarja: Manager Denies Any Wrongs
According to the manager of Sarja, Ashwin, he has denied such allegations and called them baseless. He confirmed that he received ₹3.15 crore, but around ₹20 lakh has been said to have been paid back. According to Ashwin, Hegde suggested transferring The Soldier into Hindi or Telugu, but Sarja chose Kannada.
They were to shoot in October instead, with Hegde apparently refusing to respond to requests for it-Leading Sarja’s team to issue the legal notice. Sarja recently got an interim bail by paying ₹50,000 from Dindoshi Sessions Court on August 5, 2025, as investigations continue regarding the ongoing controversy.
Effect of the Industry and the Investigations Underway
This case has given tremors in Sandalwood when trust and transparency will be questioned in film deals. The Amboli police are inspecting all financial records and agreements, and this case is filed under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for Cheating and Criminal Breach of Trust. As this legal battle carries on, fans, as well as industry insiders, await clarity on whether this storm will survive Sarja’s rapidly rising career or damage it for good.
