The Madras High Court has reportedly directed Netflix and Tarc Studios to file their responses within two weeks to allegations that the biographical documentary Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairytale includes scenes from the 2005 Rajinikanth-starrer Chandramukhi without proper authorisation.
As per reports, the petition was filed by AP International, which holds the copyright to Chandramukhi. The company claimed that footage from the film was used in the documentary without consent, despite prior legal notices demanding removal of the content and compensation of ₹5 crore. The plea also seeks a court directive to delete the disputed footage and disclose earnings made from the documentary.
Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy, who is presiding over the case, has issued notices to both Tarc Studios, the documentary’s producer, and Netflix, its global distributor.
This fresh legal development follows a similar dispute raised by actor Dhanush’s production banner, Wunderbar Films. Dhanush has filed a separate case claiming that a three-second clip from his 2015 film Naanum Rowdy Dhaan was used without approval in the same documentary. That petition also names actor Nayanthara, her husband and filmmaker Vignesh Shivan, and their company Rowdy Pictures, among others.
The controversy erupted when Nayanthara publicly alleged that Dhanush put pressure on her and kept her from using clips from Naanum Rowdy Dhaan in her documentary. She claimed that after removing all footage from the documentary, Dhanush issued a legal notice asking for Rs 10 crore for the use of a mere three seconds of behind-the-scenes footage. In response to her letter, Dhanush's legal team issued a statement urging the actor to remove the social media post.
In that case, Dhanush’s team has demanded ₹1 crore in damages, while Nayanthara’s legal representative, Rahul Dhawan, has denied any copyright infringement, stating the footage used belonged to the actor’s personal archive, not the official film reels.
Last seen in Madhavan and Siddarth's Test, Nayanthara has in her pipeline, Mannangatti Since 1960, Hi, Raakayie and Mookuthi Amman 2 in Tamil, Mega157 in Telugu, Toxic in Kannada, Dear Students and Patriot in Malayalam.
Helmed by P Vasu, Chandramukhi, which hit theatres in 2005, was a remake of Vasu's Kannada film Apthamitra (2004) which itself was based on the Malayalam film Manichitrathazhu (1993). The film features Rajinikanth, Prabhu, Jyotika, Nasser and Vadivelu among others.
