The Dhanush-Nayanthara Clash: A personal view

Whilst there had been an editorial decision by Sigaram to stay away from stories pertaining to the personal lives of the stars (including gossip), the events of the last week has necessitated a response, mainly because the current discussions on social media has hinged around a vague or no understanding of the facts. I will therefore not pretend that this article does not have a bias – because it does.

Some people have an unhealthy obsession with film personalities. It is important to note that film personalities are ordinary people doing jobs. Some are more talented than others and some are more likeable than others. If we do not know them personally, it is advisable to restrict our curiosity so that it does not invade their personal space or privacy. This article is therefore not meant to steer into people’s personal lives, but as a critique of what has transpired over the last week.

In the case of Nayanthara, her personal relationships and her disagreement with Dhanush was unfortunately brought to the fore, wilfully, by Nayanthara herself – opening up her version of events to public criticism and public scrutiny.

There have been lots of talk about the tension created during the filming of Naanum Rowdy Thaan where Dhanush’s production company, Wunderbar Films produced the film that saw the blossoming on set of the love between Nayanthara, the film’s lead actress and Vignesh Shivan, the film’s director. Whatever happened on set and the resultant tension is known only to those present on set, but what is undeniable is that those events have a direct bearing on the current controversy.  

When the idea for the Netflix documentary was first mooted, Nayanthara had approached the office of Wunderbar Films for permission to use footage shot on the sets of the film. The manager, on instructions from Dhanush, said that Nayanthara needed to discuss the matter with Dhanush. There is an unconfirmed report that Nayanthara had requested Dhanush to come to her and that was the reason he had refused. That remains a point of conjecture. However, what has been established is that the matter was never resolved and permission had not been granted.

When word got out that the footage was going to be used without the required permission, the lawyer for Wunderbar Films informed Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan and Netflix India that permission had not been granted and that the planned visuals should be edited from the version to be screened on Netflix, failing which financial compensation would be sought.

The correct response would have been to contest this directly with Wunderbar Films, which is a business entity. Instead, Nayanthara chose to take this matter to the public forum in which she not only addressed Dhanush, the individual, but also made a lot of derogatory and deeply personal remarks – many of which could eventually lead to civil litigation.

The visuals were not for personal use, but for commercial use – that too with a huge price tag that benefited Nayanthara and her husband. Wunderbar Films had the right to provide or deny the permission sought.

The issue is not about who is right about the copyright issues, nor is it about the ethics involved in the decision. However, taking the matter to a public forum with personal attacks on Dhanush’s personality instead of addressing Wunderbar Films professionally, was a distasteful decision.

To add insult to the whole episode is that Vignesh Shivan had posted the disputed material on social media and mocked the fact that permission had not been granted for said visuals.

As a matter of clarity, the duration of the visuals used in the Netflix web series was not 3 seconds, as asserted by Nayanthara, but 37 seconds – and this went ahead despite the fact that permission had not been granted.

The move has obviously brought a lot of publicity to the Netflix series and, regardless of how and why it started, the spat has raised awareness about the Netflix special.

What has been laudable is Dhanush’s stoic silence to the media on the issue. He has gone about his many projects without missing a beat and has remained impervious to the many attacks on his character and even assertions that his entry to films was because of his father being a film director and that only nepotism had enabled him to survive in the industry. Whatever one’s thoughts on Dhanush’s character, his achievements in the industry has been through sheer hard work. To ascribe that level of excellence to nepotism is foolish.

The storm is unlikely to blow over soon, but a disturbing trend has emerged from film fans and from some sectors of the film industry that Dhanush’s treatment of Nayanthara is rooted in misogyny. Not every assertive person is necessarily correct in their stances. Therefore not every assertive woman should be blindly followed simply because of her gender – That would be an insult to true gender equality.