A BATTLE BEYOND THE FAIRY TALE

AMIL cinema was set ablaze earlier this week when actor Nayanthara accused Dhanush of withholding an NOC (no objection certificate) for using clips and videos from her film Naanum Rowdy Dhaan (2015) in her Netflix documentary, Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairy Tale.

- NARAYANI M

She alleged that he had sent a legal notice demanding ₹10 crore in compensation for three seconds of behind-the-scenes footage. Nayanthara called him out for what she termed a new 'low' and accused him of harboring vengeance against her and her husband, whom she met during the making of the film that Dhanush had produced. Tamil cinema hadn't witnessed such a public showdown in a long time.

The controversy quickly went viral, introducing the internet to the term "schadenfreude," which fueled a frenzy of memes and social media posts. Clips and interviews featuring the duo resurfaced, accompanied by sensational thumbnails and wild speculations threatening to tarnish both their reputations. Industry reactions were sharply divided — while Dhanush's former co-stars and some prominent figures stood by him, many leading women from the industry voiced their support for Nayanthara.

Adding fuel to the fire, director-producer SS Kumaran issued a letter the same day, alleging that the title of Vignesh Shivan's upcoming film LIC (now titled LIK) was registered without his permission, claiming it had originally belonged to him.