In a significant development in the ongoing copyright dispute between Dhanush, Nayanthara, and Vignesh Shivan, Dhanush has filed a civil suit in the Madras High Court. The suit, filed on Wednesday, targets the two actors, their production house Rowdy Pictures Private Limited, Tarc Studios LLP, and Los Gatos Production Services India LLP (the Mumbai-based entity handling Netflix's Indian content investments).
Dhanush’s company, Wunderbar Films, is seeking court approval to sue these parties within the territorial jurisdiction of the Madras High Court. Representing Dhanush, senior counsel PS Raman, along with advocates Gautam S Raman and Maithreyi Canthaswamy Sharma, filed the application for leave to sue, which was opposed by Nayanthara’s legal team led by counsels Sathish Parasaran and R Parthasarathy.
The legal dispute revolves around the use of a three-second behind-the-scenes clip from Naanum Rowdy Dhaan in Nayanthara’s Netflix documentary. The issue began when Dhanush sent a legal notice demanding ₹10 crore in compensation for the unauthorized use of the footage. Nayanthara responded with an open letter expressing her frustration, stating that the clips were from personal devices and had been shared on social media. She accused Dhanush of harboring personal grievances, noting that his refusal to grant permission for using even photographs or lyrics from Naanum Rowdy Dhaan had caused emotional distress.
Nayanthara also revealed that her team had spent two years trying to obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Dhanush for the footage and photographs but was met with repeated refusals. She emphasized that the issue seemed less about business or legal concerns and more about Dhanush's personal feelings, referring to harsh remarks he allegedly made prior to the release of Naanum Rowdy Dhaan.
