Stung by actor Nayanthara using a 3-second clip from the movie ‘Naanum Rowdy Dhaan’ without a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the film’s producer Dhanush, the latter has moved the Madras High Court against the ‘Lady Superstar’, her husband and filmmaker Vignesh Sivan, and a subsidiary of Netflix.
Allowing the application of Dhanush after hearing preliminary arguments and without going into the merits at this stage, Justice Abdul Quddhose on Wednesday said a major part of the cause of action had taken place under the territorial limits of the High Court’s jurisdiction.
Dhanush, a national award-winning actor, has filed the petition through his production firm, Wunderbar Films, which produced the movie and released it in 2015. This followed the actor’s legal notice to Nayanthara, demanding Rs 10 crore as damages for using the clip in the Netflix docu-drama, ‘Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairytale’ released on November 18. Besides Nayanthara and Sivan, Dhanush has sued their production company Rowdy Pictures Pvt. Ltd. and Los Gatos Production Services LLP, the Mumbai-based entity through which Netflix operates its investments.
Having waited for two years to secure an NOC from Dhanush for using the visuals from the movie, Nayanthara finally used a 3-second clip in the docu biopic, which includes her journey in the dream industry her and relationships as well as love and marriage. In a letter to Dhanush, ahead of the release of the documentary on OTT, she had accused him of being petty-minded and having a personal grudge against her. Expressing shock at the legal notice from Dhanush seeking Rs 10 crore as damages, Nayanthara said that she would fight it legally.
Interestingly, the movie in which she played the female lead against Vijay Sethupathi, is not only important in her career but in her personal life as well since it was during the shoot her love for Sivan blossomed. Hence, she was particular about having the visuals and her outrage at Dhanush’s long delay and denial. Both she and Sivan had justified using the visual clip on the ground that it was already available on social media.