Explained: Nayanthara vs Dhanush controversy, and the loaded open letter

Tamil actor Nayanthara on Saturday, November 16, shared an open letter, addressed to fellow actor Dhanush K Raja. The two have worked together in many films, but the contents of the letter conveyed that they don’t share a healthy professional relationship, let alone a friendship. In the letter, Nayanthara accused Dhanush of being jealous of those who rise to the top on their own merit and without any industry connections. She also called him a ‘tyrant’ and a small-hearted person, and alleged that he had been holding a ‘personal grudge’ against her and her partner, director Vignesh Shivan.
But, what’s the actual matter? Why did Nayanthara go public with her allegations against Dhanush? When did it all start?
The letter, which was shared on the official Instagram handle of the ‘lady superstar’ of Tamil cinema, included many references to the fact that Nayanthara-Dhanush’s differences are not new, but have been brewed for a long time. It also appeared that the final nail in the coffin was Dhanush’s alleged decision to withhold the contents of the 2015 film Naanum Rowdy Dhaan, which Nayanthara wanted to feature in her upcoming Netflix documentary titled, Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairytale.
As per her letter, she and her team ran from pillar to post and engaged in multiple conversations over the years with Dhanush’s team to acquire an NOC (No objection certificate) to use a few parts of the comedy film in her documentary.
The series gives a glimpse into the celebrated life of the actor, her journey to stardom and her choices in life and career. Nayanthara mentioned that the film played a crucial role in shaping up her career, and therefore, when Dhanush didn’t allow the actual content to be used in her documentary, they shot something related to the film as a BTS (behind-the-scenes) with their own equipment. This led to a legal notice from Dhanush.
Nayanthara explained in her post: “What’s even more shocking is your legal notice after the release of the trailer of the Netflix documentary. We were startled to read those lines wherein you questioned the usage of some videos (just three seconds) which were shot on our personal devices and that too BTS visuals that are already very much publicly present on social media and claimed a sum of Rs 10 crore as damages for a mere 3 seconds. 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 (sic).”
The actor further claimed that Dhanush is a hypocrite who talks about love, positivity and maintaining friendships at his film events, but behaves exactly the opposite in real-life. She told the actor to remove ‘the mask’ that he has been wearing ‘for the crowd’.
“It’s almost been 10 years since the release of the film, and it is a long time for someone to continue to be this vile while wearing a mask in front of the world. I have not forgotten all the horrible things that you said about the film that was one of your biggest hits as a producer and a film that is loved by all even today (sic),” she elaborated in her post.

It is important to note that the film which Nayanthara is talking about, holds a crucial place in her and her husband’s lives. It was on the sets of Naanum Rowdy Dhaan that the two fell in love. While Vignesh was the director, Nayanthara was the lead actor alongside Vijay Sethupathi. There had been speculation about Vignesh going over the budget of the film, upsetting producer Dhanush, who later predicted that the film would be doomed. However, it went on to emerge as a profitable venture for the distributors.
This is the same incident that Nayanthara has mentioned briefly in her note: “The words you said pre-release have left some unhealable scars to us already. I learnt through film circles that your ego was supremely hurt after the film became a blockbuster. Your displeasure over its success was perceptible even to common man through award function connected with this film (Filmfare 2016) (sic).”
It is clear from Nayanthara’s post that her accusations didn’t simply project her disappointment in a man she had collaborated with in the past, but reflected her feelings of being disrespected by her co-star, producer and a colleague, both personally and professionally.
While Nayanthara has received a lot of support from her fellow women in the industry, including Parvathy Thiruvothu, Shruti Haasan, Ekta Kapoor, Dia Mirza and Nazriya Nazim, among others, Dhanush and his team are yet to respond to the letter.