'Thought he'd let go...': Nayanthara on documentary battle with Dhanush
What's the story
Nayanthara and Dhanush are in a legal dispute over the use of clips from his 2015 film Naanum Rowdy Dhaan in her Netflix documentary, Beyond the Fairytale.
Dhanush even filed a lawsuit against Nayanthara and her husband-filmmaker Vignesh Shivan.
Now, in an interview, Nayanthara explained that they approached Dhanush for the rights, but when he didn't give the NOC, they moved forward without it.
Explanation
'It was never meant to be a controversy'
Nayanthara explained that the situation wasn't intended to be a controversy.
"It was never meant to be a controversy," she emphasized, adding, "Courage only comes from the truth."
"I only have to be scared when I'm fabricating something...If I didn't speak out, when things had already gone too far, I don't think anyone would have the courage to stand up for themselves ever again."
Publicity stunt
Nayanthara clarified open letter to Dhanush wasn't a 'publicity stunt'
Further, Nayanthara clarified that her open letter wasn't a publicity stunt.
She hoped that given Dhanush's reputation, he would let the issue go. However, he escalated it out of proportion after the trailer release, which she found "unfair."
She added that she only wanted four lines from Naanum Rowdy Dhaan to capture "our life, our love, our kids."
The film was produced by Dhanush.
Attempts
Nayanthara reveals she tried to talk to Dhanush
Nayanthara also revealed she contacted Dhanush's manager—asking to speak with him directly.
She didn't want to delve into what went wrong over the last 10 years but wanted to clear the air so they could at least exchange greetings if they ran into each other.
The two famously ignored each other at a wedding—days after Nayanthara's open letter.
The video of that went viral.
Controversy
Here's what exactly happened
To recall, on November 16—two days before the release of her Netflix film—Nayanthara wrote a scathing letter after Dhanush sent a legal notice regarding the use of BTS clips in her documentary.
Nayanthara stated that the BTS clips they used were captured by their crew members and proceeded with it.
This prompted Dhanush to file a copyright violation case against them and Netflix.