HC rejects Netflix plea to reject Dhanush’s copyright suit

The Madras high court on Tuesday dismissed Netflix’s plea to reject the copyright infringement case filed by actor K Dhanush against actor Nayanthara Kurian over her documentary on the OTT platform.

The HC was hearing the civil suit filed by Dhanushseeking ₹10 crore in damages from Nayanthara for using behind-the-scenes footage from a film (Naanum Rowdy Dhaan) in the Netflix documentary (Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairytale) released in November 2024.

Dhanush’s production company Wunderbar Films Private Limited produced the film in which Nayanthara had acted and her now husband Vignesh Shivan had directed and was released in 2015. Following the release of the documentary’s trailer, Dhanush moved the high court last year.

Netflix’s Mumbai-based unit Los Gatos Production Services India LLP filed the applications seeking rejecting the suit and quashing the leave granted by the court for the case to be heard in Chennai within the jurisdiction of the Madras high court.

Justice Abdul Quddhose observed that Dhanush has rightly sought leave of this court and has also rightly obtained leave to institute the suit against Netflix since their registered office is in Mumbai while the offices of all other respondents in the case are within the jurisdiction of the Madras high court.

The justice dismissed Netflix’s application and another plea challenging the grant of leave to file the suit in the high court. The main suit filed by Dhanush is still pending. “Any observation made by this court in this order is only for the purpose of adjudicating these applications. It is made clear that those observations will not have any bearing for deciding the other interlocutory application and the main suit,” the court said on Tuesday. “It is settled law that as long as any infringing material remains on air and for each moment that the material continues to be screened will dilute the rights of the copyright holder and is a continuous cause of action.”

Dhanush’s contention is that it infringes on the copyright of Naanum Rowdy Dhaan. The film is Shivan’s first directorial debut where he met Nayanthara on the sets and they began to date forming a crux of Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairy Tale which is about the actor’s life, soaring film career, and their star-studded wedding. On the same day that the trailer of Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairy Tale was released on November 9, Dhanush had sent an email notice to Mumbai-based Los Gatos Production Services India LLP (a unit of Netflix).

On November 11, he received a response that “behind the scenes (BTS)” from the film Naanum Rowdy Dhaan is not owned by the applicant company. Dhanush stated in his civil suit that the BTS was shot by people hired by them on set and uploaded in their YouTube channel, Wunderbar Films. He had demanded ₹10 crore towards damages if they failed to take down the “infringed” content.

On November 16 last year, Nayanthara uploaded an open letter on her social media handles to Dhanush that for two years they had been requesting his no-objection certificate from him to use videos, songs, photos from the film but he did not agree. Nayanthara tore into Dhanush in the letter and said that it was an “all-time low” for him for demanding ₹10 crore for using three seconds of BTS in her Netflix release. Dhanush called the letter “highly defamatory” in his suit. Two days later, Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairy Tale released on Netflix on November 18 last year.