The Madras High Court on 12 December 2024 granted time until 8 January 2025 for actor Nayanthara, her director husband Vignesh Shivan, and Netflix to respond to a lawsuit filed by Wunderbar Films, owned by actor Dhanush K Raja. The production house has sought to restrain the defendants from using any visuals related to the 2015 film Naanum Rowdy Dhaan in a Netflix docu-drama titled Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairytale.
Justice Abdul Quddhose directed the Registry to hear Wunderbar’s application for an interim injunction alongside Netflix’s application to dismiss the lawsuit after the Christmas vacation. Preliminary submissions were made by senior counsel PS Raman for Wunderbar Films and Rahul Balaji for Netflix during the hearing.
The civil suit, filed through counsels Gautam S. Raman and Maithreyi Canthaswamy Sharma, seeks a permanent injunction to prevent copyright infringement and ₹1 crore in damages. Wunderbar contends that using behind-the-scenes (BTS) footage or any other material connected to Naanum Rowdy Dhaan in the Netflix docu-drama constitutes a violation of their rights.
The production house cited Clause 4 of the artist agreement signed by Nayanthara in August 2014, asserting that all performances and visuals related to the film are its exclusive intellectual property.
Allegations Of Unprofessional Conduct
The affidavit filed by Wunderbar’s director, Shreya Srinivasan, claimed that during the film’s production, Nayanthara and Shivan exhibited unprofessional behavior, causing delays and exceeding the original budget of ₹4 crore. The production house accused Shivan of prioritizing Nayanthara during filming, including taking multiple retakes of her scenes, which impacted other cast members and increased costs.
Although the film performed well at the box office, Wunderbar stated it barely managed to make a profit due to the inflated budget. The production house attributed the budget overruns to the romantic relationship that developed between Shivan and Nayanthara during the shoot, which allegedly strained their relationship with Wunderbar’s management.
The suit further alleged that in November 2024, Shivan sought a no-objection certificate (NOC) from Srinivasan to use Naanum Rowdy Dhaan footage in the Netflix docu-drama. Shivan reportedly requested that the NOC be issued without informing Dhanush, Wunderbar’s managing director. When Srinivasan refused, Shivan allegedly became abusive and cut the call. Despite this, the defendants proceeded to include the footage in the documentary, which was released on Netflix in November 2024. The court will examine the interim injunction request after the respondents file their replies.
(With inputs from The Hindu)
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