Legal notice worth ₹5 crore sent to producers of Nayanthara's Netflix documentary for using Chandramukhi footage

The fuss around the Netflix documentary Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairytale seems never-ending as the latest is that producers were sent a legal notice from HC.

The woes surrounding Nayanthara’s Netflix documentary, Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale, just do not seem to end. After Dhanush sued Nayanthara and the producers, Netflix and the company which produced the documentary were sent a legal notice from the makers of the 2005 hit film Chandramukhi for using footage from the film in the series without permission. A LiveLaw report states that the Madras High Court issued a notice to them on Tuesday.

After Dhanush, the producers of Chandramukhi are suing the producers of Nayanthara's Netflix documentary for unauthorised usage of footage.

Legal notice sent to producers of Nayanthara documentary from HC

The Madras HC issued notices to Tarc Studio LLP and Netflix Entertainment Services India LLP for using unauthorised footage from Chandramukhi in Netflix: Beyond The Fairytale.

The notices were issued on a plea filed by AP International, which held the copyright of the film over the original producers, Sivaji Productions. The company holds the audio and song video rights to the film, excluding audio cassette and audio CD rights for some countries.

The claim is that the producers and OTT platform used footage from the film without obtaining prior permission or license, using footage available on YouTube instead. The company stated that they sent a cease and desist order to the producers and asked them to pay damages of ₹5 crore. The producers reportedly approached the company to acquire the rights only after that.

The company is now asking the court for a permanent injunction restraining the producers from using the footage and asking them to remove the portions of the documentary where Chandramukhi footage was used. This comes after Sivaji Productions clarified earlier this year that they did not sue Nayanthara for ₹5 crore and had given the NOC.

About Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairytale

Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairytale was released on Netflix in November 2024. It explores the life and career of Nayanthara, who is now married to Vignesh Shivan and has twins with him.

Even before it began streaming, the actor wrote an open letter to Dhanush claiming that he refused to provide permission for them to use footage from the 2015 film Naanum Rowdy Dhaan, which he produced and her husband directed. The footage was used in the documentary anyway, causing friction between the actors. He sued her for ₹10 crore in the HC over it.