Actor Bala, predominantly known for his work in Malayalam cinema, was arrested on Monday morning on charges of outraging a woman’s modesty, following a complaint from his ex-wife, singer-composer Amritha Suressh, as reported by OnManorama. He also faces additional charges under juvenile justice laws for allegedly “disturbing” their 12-year-old daughter.

Bala, the brother of Tamil director Siva known for films like Veeram (2014), Vedalam (2015), Vivegam (2017), Viswasam (2019) and Annaatthe (2021), and currently directing the upcoming Suriya-starrer Kanguva (2024), was arrested along with his manager Rajesh. While the police are expected to present them in court today evening, Bala plans to approach the Kerala High Court to quash the case entirely, according to his lawyer Fathima Siddique.

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According to OnManorama, Amritha, in her complaint, has accused Bala of insulting her via social media and added that his videos have caused emotional harm to their daughter. She further claimed that he also violated their divorce agreement, which prohibits personal attacks, stating, “He is constantly disturbing me and my 12-year-old daughter, even giving paid online interviews about us.”

Previously, Bala had claimed that Amritha was restricting him from seeing their daughter. However, the 12-year-old later posted a video on social media explaining the emotional distress she and her mother have faced due to her father’s actions. Besides Malayalam films, Bala has also acted in Tamil and Telugu languages. His most recent appearance was in controversial director Omar’s Bad Boyz (2024).