Nayanthara vs Dhanush: Why South India’s biggest stars are feuding over a Netflix documentary

Indian actor Nayanthara and her director husband Vignesh Shivan are at the centre of a legal dispute with fellow celebrity Dhanush over the use of a three-second clip in a documentary about her life.

The controversy has sparked a wider discussion on intellectual property and creative rights, with Dhanush claiming the footage from the 2015 filmNaanum Rowdy Dhaan was used without permission.

Nayanthara argues that the dispute is more personal than legal, accusing Dhanush of using his power as a producer to settle old grievances. The actor says she and her husband faced difficulties obtaining rights to include footage from the film in their Netflix documentary.

On 16 November, Nayanthara, who mainly works in the Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam film industries based in the southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Kerala, shared an open letter on social media criticising the actor-filmmaker for filing the lawsuit.

The lawsuit demanded Rs 100m (£939,212) for what Dhanush claimed was the unauthorised use of footage from the 2015 Tamil film Naanum Rowdy Dhaan.

The romantic action-comedy was produced by Dhanush under his company Wunderbar Films. Nayanthara played the female lead in the film, which was written and directed by her now-husband Vignesh Shivan.

The couple met while working on the film, got engaged in 2021, and married the following year.

In her Instagram post, Nayanthara said she and her husband spent two years seeking permission to use footage, photographs, songs, and lyrics from Naanum Rowdy Dhaan in the documentary titled Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairytale, but were unable to obtain a No Objection Certificate.

The couple felt it was important to include video from the 2015 film as it marked their first meeting and is an integral part of Nayanthara’s life.

“After two years of battling it out with you for an NOC and waiting for your approval for our Netflix documentary release, we finally decided to give up, re-edit and settle for the current version since you declined to permit the usage of Naanum Rowdy Dhaan songs or visual cuts, even the photographs to say the least despite multiple requests.”

According to Nayanthara’s post, they decided to use a three-second clip that was “shot on our personal devices and that too BTS visuals that are already very much publicly present on social media”.

“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,” she wrote.

Shivan also shared a 10-second video on his Instagram stories, showing him talking to Nayanthara on the set of Naanum Rowdy Dhaan.

The caption read: “The 10 crores clip that wants to be taken down from our Netflix documentary. Please watch it here for free.”

Nayanthara’s letter claimed that they received the lawsuit from Dhanush after the trailer for the documentary was released last week.

According to local news reports, Dhanush’s legal representatives have emphasised that he is the sole owner of all media associated with the film Naanum Rowdy Dhaan.

“Advise 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 100 m against your client and Netflix India,” their notice to the couple read 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.”

Nayanthara’s post claimed that Dhanush’s lawsuit stems not from concerns over copyright but from his personal relationship with the actress.

“It is understandable if it is business compulsions and monetary issues that mandate your denial; but it hurts that this decision of yours is only to vent out your personal grudge against us and that you have deliberately remained indecisive this long,” she stated.

“Does a Producer become an Emperor controlling the lives, freedom and liberty of all the persons in the set? Any deviation from the Emperor’s dictum attracts legal ramifications?”

She added: “It’s almost been 10 years since the release of the film, and it is a long time for someone to continue to be this vile while wearing a mask in front of the world. I have not forgotten all the horrible things that you said about the film that was one of your biggest hits as a producer and a film that is loved by all even today. The words you said pre-release have left some unhealable scars to us already.

“I learnt through film circles that your ego was supremely hurt after the film became a blockbuster…Leaving apart business competition, prominent persons in public life largely do not tamper with others’ private lives. Courtesy and decency mandates large hearted behaviour in such matters.”

Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale is available for streaming on Netflix.