Nayanthara-Dhanush row: Female actors come out in support of Tamil cinema's 'Lady Superstar'

Chennai: Tamil cinema’s ‘Lady Superstar’ Nayanthara on Saturday posted a three-page ‘open letter’ on her social media accounts accusing popular actor Dhanush of harbouring “vengeance” and “personal grudge” over her and her partner Vignesh Shivan. 

While Dhanush didn’t respond to Nayanthara’s letter, the actor did receive support from fellow women actors such as Nazriya Nazim Fahadh, Parvathy Thiruvothu, and Aishwarya Lakshmi. Dhanush is a popular actor in Tamil cinema and is married to Aishwarya, daughter of superstar Rajinikanth. But the couple have been living separately for the past couple of years after filing for mutual divorce in 2022.

Nayanthara’s accusations follow Dhanush sending a legal notice to her over the usage of a clip from a movie produced by the former in a documentary, Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairy Tale, on her life and marriage to Shivan, premiered on Netflix. 

Nayanthara alleged that the vengeance that Dhanush has been festering against the film, her, and her partner, doesn't “just affect us but the people who have given their effort and time towards this project.”

“This NetFlix Documentary about me, my life, my love and marriage includes clips of many of my industry well-wishers who have graciously contributed and memories from multiple films, but sadly does not include the most special and important film, Naanum Rowdy Dhaan,” Nayanthara added. 

The actor, who married Shivan in 2022 after dating him for over six years, said she has been waiting for two years for Dhanush’s approval for using songs, visual cuts, and photographs from the movie. Nayanthara said they insisted on using the songs from the movie as they believed there was no better music to use in the documentary. 

“…your refusal to give us the opportunity to use it, or even just lyrics from the songs, broke my heart. It is understandable if it is business compulsions and monetary issues that mandate your denial; but it hurts that this decision of yours is only to vent out your personal grudge against us and that you have deliberately remained indecisive this long,” she said. 

What's even more shocking, Nayanthara said, is the legal notice from Dhanush after the release of the trailer of the Netflix documentary seeking Rs 10 crores, adding that they only used three seconds of the song which were shot on their personal devices, which are very much publicly present on social media. 

She said Dhanush’s behaviour is an all-time low from him and speaks so much about his character and wished that he was “half the person” he portrays to be on stage in audio launches in front of your innocent fans. 

“…but clearly you do not practice what you preach, at least not for me and my partner. Does a Producer become an Emperor controlling the lives, freedom and liberty of all the persons in the set? Any deviation from the Emperor's dictum attracts legal ramifications?” she asked. 

The popular actor also termed Dhanush as “vile while wearing a mask in front of the world” and said the words that he used before the release of the film in 2015 have left some “unhealable scars to us” already.