Triggering the latest flashpoint of the ongoing copyright issue between Nayanthara-Vignesh Shivan and Dhanush, the Asuran actor has filed a civil suit, on Wednesday with the Madras High Court against the two, their production house Rowdy Pictures Private Limited, Tarc Studios LLP and Los Gatos Production Services India LLP, the Mumbai-based entity through which Netflix reports its Indian content investments.
In its application under Clause 12 of the Letters Patent, Dhanush's Wunderbar Films kept a prayer before the HC to grant assent to sue the company and others related to it within the territorial jurisdiction of the Madras High Court.
Representing Dhanush, senior counsel PS Raman, through advocates Gautam S Raman and Maithreyi Canthaswamy Sharma, filed the application urging the bench led by Justice Abdul Quddhose to grant leave, with the same opposed by Nayanthara's counsels Sathish Parasaran and R Parthasarathy. Without going into the merits of the main case pertaining to the usage of a three-second clip from Naanum Rowdy Dhaan in Nayanthara's Netflix documentary, the court allowed the application to grant leave.
Kollywood turned into a battlefield over a week ago, with Nayanthara openly challenging her Yaaradi Nee Mohini co-star. Nayanthara expressed her frustration over an open letter over the legal notice sent by Dhanush, which demanded ₹10 crore in compensation for three seconds of behind-the-scenes footage of Naanum Rowdy Dhaan, produced by Dhanush's Wunderbar Films. She stated that the clips in question were from personal devices and had been publicly shared on social media in the past. “Cinema is a fight for survival for people like me, who are self-made,” she wrote, highlighting her journey in the industry without influential connections. She accused Dhanush of harbouring "vengeance" against the documentary and her personal life, emphasising that his actions affected not just her and Vignesh Shivan but also the numerous people who worked on the project.
The actor also revealed that her team had spent two years persistently trying to obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Dhanush, who refused to approve the use of even photographs or lyrics from Naanum Rowdy Dhaan. “Your refusal... broke my heart,” she wrote, suggesting that his decision stemmed from personal grievances rather than business or legal compulsions. “If it were about business or monetary issues, I might understand. But this feels like a deliberate attempt to vent a personal grudge,” she wrote, referencing harsh words Dhanush allegedly said before the release of Naanum Rowdy Dhaan.