Copyright dispute: HC adjourns Dhanush’s plea, grants time to Nayanthara, Netflix to reply to suit till Jan 8
The judge issued directions to Nayanthara and other defendants including Netflix to respond to the suit. The application seeking interim restrainment was posted to January 8, 2025, for final submissions.
CHENNAI: The Madras High Court adjourned an application filed by actor Dhanush for final submissions seeking interim restrainment against actress Nayanthara, her husband Vignesh Shivan and OTT platform Netflix from using the clippings of the film ‘Naanum Rowdy Dhaan’.
Justice Abdul Quddhose heard the application of Dhanush representing Wunderbar Films Private limited connected to the civil suit claiming Rs 10 crore for the alleged damages of infringing his rights by exploiting the film scenes in the documentary film ‘Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairytale'.
The judge issued directions to Nayanthara and other defendants including Netflix to respond to the suit. The application seeking interim restrainment was posted to January 8, 2025, for final submissions.
Also Read: Dhanush vs Nayanthara row drags in Netflix over documentary streaming on OTT
In the plaint, Dhanush said the makers of the documentary violated his copyrights which are protected under the Copyright Act, 1957, by not obtaining the no-objection certificate (NOC) from him for using the clippings from 'Naanum Rowdy Dhaan' in the documentary on Nayanthara that is now being streamed on Netflix.
Since, the documentary was released worldwide through Netflix on November 18, it made a huge loss to him, hence he demanded Rs 1 crore as a temporary measure for the infringement of his copyright, said the complaint.
The relationship between Dhanush and Nayanthara, which remained testy for nearly a decade since the film's production in 2015, plunged yet again after she issued an open letter accusing him of acting petty by not granting permission to use clips.
The allegations that she raised were not merely professional but also touched his personal life right from the first portion of the letter in which she addressed him as the son of yesteryear director Kasthuri Raja and brother of director Selvaraghavan – a thinly veiled allegation of nepotism – while portraying herself as a self-made woman.
