Dhanush vs Nayanthara: HC dismisses Netflix's petition to reject copyright suit

The Madras High Court on Tuesday dismissed an application filed by the OTT platform Netflix seeking to reject Tamil superstar Dhanushrsquos copyright infringement suit against actress NayantharaThe case pertains to the alleged unauthorised use of visuals from the Tamil movie lsquoNaanum Rowdy Dhaanrsquo in the Netflix docudrama lsquoNayanthara Beyond the FairytalersquoJustice Abdul Quddhose also dismissed another application filed by Los Gatos Production Services India LLP an entity managing Netflixrsquos content investments in India which sought to revoke the courtrsquos earlier leave granted to Wunderbar Films owned by Dhanush to file the suit in the Madras High CourtLos Gatos argued that the suit should not proceed in Chennai since the applicant company was based in MumbaiHowever the judge ruled in favour of senior counsel PS Raman assisted by Gautam S Raman holding that the applications by Los Gatos lacked meritThe court scheduled a further hearing on February 5 regarding an interim relief sought by Wunderbar FilmsThe interim relief pertains to the use of visuals from lsquoNaanum Rowdy Dhaanrsquo in the Netflix docudramaIn the affidavit Sreyas Srinivasan director of Wunderbar Films argued that neither Nayanthara nor Netflix had the right to use any footage including behindthescenes BTS visuals from the 2015 film without prior permission from Wunderbar Films which had produced the movieSrinivasan explained that Nayanthara had signed an artist agreement with Wunderbar Films on August 27 2014 which transferred all rights related to her performance likeness name and voice in connection with the movie to the production company in perpetuityWunderbar Films claimed that on discovering the unauthorised use of the BTS visuals in the docudramarsquos trailer a notice was issued to Netflix on November 9 2024In response Netflix and Tarc Studios LLP the producers of the docudrama stated on November 11 2024 that the visuals were personal in nature and had not been shot by persons commissioned by Wunderbar FilmsThe dispute came into the public eye just days before the docudramarsquos release on November 18 2024On November 16 2024 Nayanthara addressed an open letter to Dhanush via her social media platform alleging that she had repeatedly requested for a No Objection Certificate NOC from Wunderbar Films for two years but had not received oneIn her letter Nayanthara explained that the docudrama included a few seconds of visuals and songs from lsquoNaanum Rowdy Dhaanrsquo because the film marked the beginning of her romantic relationship with her nowhusband director Vignesh ShivanShe accused Dhanush of harbouring a personal grudge against her and Shivan as he had sent her a legal notice seeking 10 crore in damages after the release of the trailerNayanthara claimed that only three seconds of BTS footage shot on personal devices were used making the legal notice unjustifiable