Explained: Nayanthara vs Dhanush controversy, and the viral open letter
In her open letter, Nayanthara accused Dhanush of being a small person who ‘doesn’t practice what he preaches’, and someone who wears a ‘mask’ for the crowd. But, what was the reason for this outrage? Here’s everything you need to know about this issue.
Tamil actor Nayanthara on Saturday, November 16, shared an open letter addressed to fellow actor Dhanush K Raja. The two have worked together in several films, but the contents of the letter reveal that they do not share a healthy professional relationship, leave alone a friendship. In the letter, Nayanthara accused Dhanush of being jealous of those who reach the top on their own merit and without any industry connections. She also called him a ‘tyrant’ and small-hearted person and alleged that he held a ‘personal grudge’ against her and her partner, director Vignesh Shivan.
But, what is the real matter? Why did Nayanthara make the allegations against Dhanush public? When did it all start?
The letter, which was shared on the official Instagram handle of Tamil cinema’s ‘Lady Superstar’, included several references to the fact that the differences between Nayanthara-Dhanush are not new but are long standing. It also emerged that the final nail in the coffin was Dhanush’s alleged decision to withhold the content of the 2015 film Naanum Rowdy Dhaan, which Nayanthara wanted to feature in her upcoming Netflix documentary, Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairytale.
According to his letter, he and his team went from pillar to post and negotiated for several years with Dhanush’s team to get the NOC (No Objection Certificate) to use parts of the comedy film in their documentary. Kept doing.
Nayanthara: beyond the fairy tale
The series gives a glimpse into the actor’s famous life, his journey to stardom and his choices in life and career. Nayanthara mentioned that the film played an important role in shaping her career, and hence, when Dhanush did not give permission to use the actual material in his documentary, she filmed something related to the film for BTS (behind the scenes). Shot as ) with their own equipment. Due to this Dhanush received a legal notice.
Nayanthara said in her post, “Your legal notice after the release of the trailer of the Netflix documentary is even more shocking. We were shocked to read the lines in which you questioned the use of some video (just three seconds) , which were shot.” Our personal equipment and that too BTS scene which is already publicly available on social media and a loss of Rs 10 crores has been claimed for just 3 seconds, this is the lowest for you and very much about your character. Tells something. I wish you the best. You are half the person you portray on stage at the audio launch in front of your innocent fans, but clearly you don’t practice what you preach, at least to me. And not for my partner (sic).”
The actor further claimed that Dhanush is a hypocrite who talks about love, positivity and maintaining friendship in his film appearances, but behaves exactly the opposite in real life. He asked the actor to remove the ‘mask’ he was wearing ‘for the crowd’.
“It’s been almost 10 years since the movie was released, and that’s a long time for someone to be this disgusting in front of the world wearing a mask. I haven’t forgotten all the horrible things you said about that movie a One of your biggest hits as a producer and a film that is still loved by everyone,” he elaborated in his post.
Nayanthara vs Dhanush: Where did it all start?
It is noteworthy that the film Nayanthara is talking about holds an important place in her and her husband’s life. Both of them fell in love on the sets of Naanum Rowdy Dhaan. While Vignesh was the director, Nayanthara was the lead actor alongside Vijay Sethupathi. There was speculation that Vignesh would increase the budget of the film, which angered producer Dhanush, who later predicted that the film would be ruined. However, it emerged as a profitable venture for the distributors.
This is the same incident that Nayanthara briefly mentioned in her note: “The words you said before the release have already left some unhealable wounds for us. I came to know through film circles that Your ego was deeply hurt after the film became a blockbuster. Your resentment over its success was visible even to the common man through the awards ceremony associated with this film (Filmfare 2016).”
It is clear from Nayanthara’s post that her allegations not only expressed her disappointment towards the person with whom she had worked in the past, but also the personal and professional humiliation she faced by her co-star, producer and a colleague. His feelings of leaving were shown.
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, Dhanush and his team are yet to respond to the letter.
