Actor Uttam ready to return Oscar money

Bhubaneswar: Under fire for his alleged links with chit fund promoter-cum-film producer Prabhas Rout, Ollywood actor Uttam Mohanty on Thursday said he would return Rs 30,000 paid to him for acting in a Rout's movie in 2010.

"Though I got the money for my acting, I am ready to return the money to the state government on moral ground," Mohanty told TOI. He, however, did not clarify when he would return the money.

Mohanty is undecided whether he would also return the money taken from Rout for the alleged promotional campaigns for his Ponzi firm Oscar Group in Surat in 2008-09. He paid me Rs 20,000 to attend Oscar Group's annual function. "If the Crime Branch instructs me, I will return that money too," Mohanty said.