New Delhi:
Nayanthara‘s open letter addressing her issues with actor Dhanush has stirred significant discussion within the industry. The actress accused Dhanush of slapping her with a Rs 10 crore lawsuit for using a three-second behind-the-scenes clip from their film Naanum Rowdy Dhaan in her Netflix documentary, Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale. The documentary, which offers a glimpse into her rise as a star and personal life, features a moment when Nayanthara met her husband and director Vignesh Shivan, on the sets of Naanum Rowdy Dhaan. The film, produced by Dhanush, marked the beginning of Nayanthara and Vignesh’s relationship, as they started dating during the shoot. In the documentary, actress Radhika Sarathkumar, who also starred in the film, recalled Dhanush’s reaction to Nayanthara and Vignesh’s budding relationship during production.
Radhika shared a conversation with Dhanush, who expressed his shock upon learning that Nayanthara and Vignesh were dating. Radhika recounted: “It was Dhanush who called me and said, ‘Sister, do you have any shame at all? I was like, ‘What is he saying?’ He asked, ‘Aren’t you aware of what’s happening? Don’t you know that Wikki and Nayan are dating?’ I said, ‘What the hell are you saying? I knew nothing.'”
ICYDK: In her open letter, Nayanthara revealed that she and her team spent two years attempting to secure Dhanush’s permission to use footage from Naanum Rowdy Dhaan in the documentary. When they couldn’t obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC), they decided to use behind-the-scenes visuals recorded on personal devices. She expressed shock over receiving a legal notice after the release of the trailer, accusing her of using a mere three-second clip without permission. Nayanthara wrote, “What’s even more shocking is your legal notice after the release of the trailer of the Netflix Documentary. We were startled to read those lines wherein you questioned the usage of some videos (just 3 seconds) which were shot in our personal devices and that too BTS visuals that are already very much publicly present on social media and claimed a sum of Rs 10 crores as damages for the mere 3 seconds. This is an all time low from you and speaks so much about your character. I wish you were half the person you portray to be on stage in audio launches in front of your innocent fans but clearly you do not practice what you preach. at least not for me and my partner.”
Days after Nayanthara shared an open letter, Dhanush’s lawyer issued a statement and asked her to take down the content within 24 hours. The statement from Dhanush’s legal representative read, “My client is the producer of the film and they know where they have spent each penny for the production of the film. Your client has stated that my client has not commissioned any person to shoot the behind-the-scenes footage and the said statement is baseless. Your client is put to strict proof of the same.” The statement also mentioned Dhanush would be compelled to initiate legal proceedings, seeking damages of Rs 10 crore against both Nayanthara and Netflix India if the content is not taken down within 24 hours. Advice your client to take down the content infringing my client’s copyright over the film NAANUM ROWDY DHAAN by using the same in your client’s documentary named NAYANTHARA BEYOND THE FAIRYTALE within 24 hours, failing which my client will be forced to initiate appropriate legal action, including but not limited to seeking damages to a sum of Rs. 10 crores against your client and Netflix India.”
