The Madras High Court has asked the makers of Nayanthara’s Netflix documentary to respond to allegations of unauthorised use of clips from the Tamil hit film Chandramukhi.
The documentary, Nayanthara – Beyond the Fairy Tale, was produced by Tarc Studios and released in November 2024.
AB International, which holds the copyright for Chandramukhi, filed the case. The petition claims that portions of the Rajinikanth-Jyothika starrer were included in the documentary without permission. Nayanthara had acted in the 2005 film in a key role.
The petitioner said that even after serving a legal notice demanding the removal of the clips and claiming damages of Rs 5 crore, the documentary continues to stream with the disputed content. The petition asked the court to restrain Tarc Studios from using the footage, remove the clips, and submit accounts of profits earned from the documentary’s streaming.
The case was heard by Justice Senthilkumar. Counsel for Tarc Studios stated that negotiations were ongoing to resolve the matter. However, the petitioner’s side denied any talks and pointed out that no formal reply had been filed.
The court has now allowed Tarc Studios until October 6 to file its response and adjourned the next hearing to that date.
This is the second legal issue the documentary faces.
Earlier, actor Dhanush’s production house, Wunderbar Films, filed a case claiming that scenes from his film Naanum Rowdy Dhaan were used without consent. The case seeks damages of Rs 1 crore and is still pending.
In November 2024, after Dhanush’s legal action, Nayanthara shared an open letter on Instagram. She criticised him for stooping to an “all-time low.”
She wrote, “What's even more shocking is your legal notice after the release of the trailer of the Netflix Documentary... This is an all time low from you and speaks so much about your character. I wish you were half the person you portray 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.”
Naanum Rowdy Dhaan, released in 2015, featured Vijay Sethupathi and Nayanthara. It was directed by Vignesh Sivan, now Nayanthara’s husband, and produced by Dhanush. The film’s inclusion in the documentary without permission remains under litigation.