An all-out war has broken out between south cinema superstars Nayanthara and Dhanush over a three-second clip in a Netflix documentary. While Dhanush demanded Rs 10 crore in damages for allegedly using footage from a movie produced by him, Nayanthara responded with a scathing, three-page open letter and said she was “startled” that he claimed such a massive sum for the “mere three seconds” of clips allegedly shot on “personal devices”.
Rs 10 Crore Legal Notice
Dhanush sent the Rs 10-crore legal notice to the producers of the project after the trailer for ‘Jawan’ actor’s upcoming documentary – Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale – was released online last week. The documentary allegedly has footage from the 2015 Tamil movie ‘Naanum Rowdy Dhaan’. Nayanthara starred opposite Vijay Sethupathi in the movie which was produced by Dhanush’s Wunderbar Films. The romantic comedy was written and directed by Nayanthara’s husband and filmmaker Vignesh Shivan.
Nayanthara, in the letter posted on her Instagram handle- claimed the team behind the documentary waited for Dhanush’s approval for the release but “finally decided to give up and settled for the current version” after he “declined” to permit the “usage of ‘Naanum Rowdy Dhaan’ songs or visual cuts despite multiple requests”.
“An All-Time Low”
She also mentioned that many “industry well-wishers” contributed to the Netflix documentary “about me, my life, my love, and marriage”.
“It sadly doesn’t include the most special and important film, ‘Naanum Rowdy Dhaan’,” Nayanthara said.
Dhanush has yet to respond to her letter.
The 39-year-old actor minced no words in criticising Dhanush for the “all-time low” and asserted she would be giving a “befitting” reply to the notice through lawful means.
“We were startled to read those lines wherein you questioned the usage of some videos (just three seconds) that were shot on 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 crore as damages for the mere three seconds,” she said.
“This is an all-time low from you and speaks volumes about your character. I wish you were half the person you portray on stage at audio launches in front of your innocent fans, but clearly, you do not practice what you preach, at least not with me and my partner,” the actor added.
Nayanthara claimed that Dhanush said “horrible things” about the film that was released nearly 10 years ago and that he continues to act “vile while wearing a mask in front of the world”.
“I learned through film circles that your ego was supremely hurt after the film became a blockbuster. Your displeasure over its success was perceptible even to the common man through award functions connected with this film (Filmfare 2016),” she said.
Urging Dhanush to watch the documentary, Nayanthara said, “It is important to #SpreadLove, and I hope and pray that someday you are also fully capable of doing it and not just saying it”.
Filmmaker Shivan has also stepped in to support his wife, sharing
an old video of Dhanush on Instagram, where the actor spoke about positivity and the importance of living without hate.
The video clip, taken from the audio launch of the 2017 film Sakka Podu Podu Raja, shows Dhanush saying in Tamil, “The love we have for one should not turn into hate for another. If it changes, there is no meaning for that emotion. The world is going towards a pathetic condition. There is so much negativity. Nobody likes it if another person is doing good in life. Live and let live. Nobody should hate another person. If you like somebody, celebrate with them. If you don’t like somebody, just move on.”
The documentary is set to be released on November 18.
