Antony Varghese lashes out at director Jude Anthany Joseph over cheating claims

Actor Antony Varghese, popularly known by his screen name Pepe, on Thursday responded to the allegations levelled by filmmaker Jude Anthany Joseph. Speaking at a press meet in Kochi, Varghese dismissed the allegations and said that his mother has lodged a complaint against the director. "Jude Anthany has the right to say anything. But the remark that I took an advance from him and used it for my sister's marriage is wrong," Varghese said.

"I am not interested in hurting Jude chettan. However, my family was hurt by his remarks. My mother has filed a complaint against him. She has taken a strong decision to move ahead with the case," he added.Earlier on Wednesday, Jude Anthany came out against Varghese in a YouTube interview and accused the actor of cheating. He alleged that Varghese accepted Rs 10 lakh from producer Aravind and backed away from a project, 18 days ahead of the commencement of shooting.Jude also alleged that the actor had used the advance amount for his sister's marriage. Shane Nigam and Sreenath Bhasi are facing accusations of using ganja and drugs. At the same time, there are ordinary people like Pepe in the industry. Everyone thinks he is a nice guy. However, I haven't shared the nasty things he has done. There are people like him in the film industry. The producer came to me and wept," he said. However, Jude noted that Pepe eventually returned the money.