The Madras High Court has dismissed a petition filed by Netflix India to reject Dhanush’s copyright lawsuit against Nayanthara for using a three-second clip from his 2015 film Naanum Rowdy Dhaan in her Netflix documentary Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale. Dhanush’s legal team had approached the court in November, arguing that Nayanthara, her husband Vignesh Shivan, and their production house, Rowdy Pictures, had used footage from the film without obtaining his permission.

The civil suit was filed by Dhanush’s production company, Wunderber Films, and also sought the court’s approval to file a lawsuit against Los Gatos Production Services India LLP, a Mumbai-based entity through which Netflix manages its content investments in India. Dhanush had previously warned of legal action if the footage wasn’t removed within 24 hours. His legal representative made it clear that if the content was not taken down, Dhanush would pursue legal remedies, including seeking damages up to Rs. 10 crore.

Nayanthara, in response, shared an open letter on Instagram, criticizing Dhanush for demanding a substantial compensation over a few seconds of footage. She also thanked Bollywood stars such as Shah Rukh Khan, Chiranjeevi, and Ram Charan for granting permission to use their film clips in the documentary without hesitation, contrasting their cooperation with Dhanush’s actions.

This legal conflict between the actors continues to highlight the tension around intellectual property rights in the film industry, particularly regarding the use of copyrighted material in documentaries.