Gulf News editors look into the real cause behind the open fight between two superstars of South Indian cinema.
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00:00From thick friends to bitter enemies, two of South India's biggest film stars, Nayanthara
00:11and Dhanush, are involved in a very public and bitter battle. Both of them are feuding
00:17over a three-second clip from Nayanthara's superhit 2015 movie, Nanam Rowdy Dhaan, which
00:26was produced by Dhanush and directed by her then-boyfriend, Vicky. Nayanthara wanted to
00:32use a three-second clip from the movie for her Netflix documentary, Beyond the Fairytale,
00:40Nayanthara. I'm Dhanusha Gokulan, Chief Reporter, Business, and I'm joined with Manjusha Radhakrishnan,
00:46our Entertainment Editor. Before we get into the nitty-gritties on why we think this highlights
00:53the bigger issue of the kind of vicious backlash that women face when speaking up against
00:59these so-called powerful figures in the film industry, Manjusha, could you just like sort
01:04of walk us through, you know, the main highlights of what went down, what caused this thing
01:11to blow up?
01:12Firstly, I want to just put it out there, I think Nayanthara is the boss lady, she's
01:18the OG woman. No wonder she's called the superstar of South India, a female superstar, and she
01:23proved it as well. She's got a spine and that's what I was impressed by this week. I mean,
01:28think about this, she's taken on Dhanush, who's like one of the most powerful like movie
01:33moguls that is there in South India. He's a producer, his father-in-law, former father-in-law
01:38was Rajnikanth, he's got powerful friends, he's always surrounded by A-listers around
01:43him and for Nayanthara, who's an outsider from the industry, to call Dhanush out for
01:49just his toxic behaviour, hats off to her. I mean, there's no denying what she's done,
01:55she's taken on a very brave risk. It's all for a three-second clip, Dhanusha. I mean,
02:01so Vicky and Nayanthara met on these sets of 2015, they work together, sparks flew and
02:08in this documentary, it's about their fairy tale, they're chronicling how they met, etc.
02:12for Netflix.
02:13Now, I'm sure that she was paid millions for this because during the wedding, all what
02:18we saw was just a few photographs, I mean, beautiful photographs but we don't know what
02:22behind it and she's a very private person. So, for her to actually put herself out there,
02:27she thought that this three-second clip on the sets of where they met, fell in love was
02:31very important. Apparently, she asked Dhanush many times, can we use the clip, he did not
02:38respond. So, finally, what she did is, apparently, she just used the, you know, some behind the
02:43scenes clips that you take while you're shooting, etc. on the phone and she used it in the movie.
02:47Now, Dhanush has hit back, his lawyers has hit back, saying that you need to give me
02:52rupee 10 crore, which is how many millions you would know as a business reporter.
02:56It's about 100 million Indian rupees.
02:58Yeah, there you go, she's the business reporter, she's just proved it. So, 100 million rupees
03:02just for those clips and she said he's a toxic person, he harbors so much hate and it's very
03:09unfair that he projects a different image, whereas, you know, this kind man, let's not
03:15have negativity, that kind of sweet guy image, guy next door image, but in reality, he's
03:20anything but. To have Nayantara, who is also a very close friend of his, call him out on
03:26a public platform in an open letter takes a lot of courage. Now, Dhanush has not come
03:31back with it, lawyers have just shared a copy of what they wanted in return, etc. So, he
03:36has not publicly addressed her comments or her attack. It is actually an attack against
03:43an actor and I have to say that hats off to her because any woman, Dhanush, who has taken
03:49on any powerful lobby in the entertainment film industry have been penalized. Think about
03:54it, Samantha Roop Prabhu, when she got divorced with Naga Chaitanya, she was the one who was
04:00blamed for the divorce. You take on anybody or you go up against any male actor, the
04:06repercussions are quick. In fact, there was even a hashtag trending saying let's, you
04:10know, Nayantara is of questionable character. Dhanusha, why do you think women, if they
04:15hit out against any powerful guys in the film industry, why are they penalized so quickly?
04:20Their character is often questioned, are they of proper moral conduct? Why is morality brought
04:26into this? And we are South Indians, right? Yeah, we are South Indians. So, I think we
04:30are sort of like an authority on the subject about the deep-rooted misogyny that we see
04:37in our communities. So, this whole issue, though misogyny, you know, starts from home,
04:43it's a very grassroot issue. On a wider level, you see it quite prevalent in the film industry.
04:51It also goes to show how much of a pedestal that the South Indian movie-going public plays are
05:00heroes in our film stars on, right? Like, stars cannot go wrong, like they are held at such high
05:05moral standards. But in this particular issue between Nayantara and Dhanush, I also think it's
05:12a very personal matter between the both of them, given, I can imagine that they were good friends
05:19and, you know, they came out, small misunderstanding, which may have not been
05:24resolved at that stage, and it blew up behind proportions. No, but it still takes a lot of guts,
05:30right? It could have been a petty fight, like you said, an unresolved cat fight. Yeah, yeah,
05:33I 100% agree that Nayantara is, she did something super brave to call out, you know, a star who
05:40has the stature of Dhanush. But we have been seeing this more and more in the South Indian
05:45film industry. We have, yes. I think the women in the Kerala film industry set an excellent example
05:51with the whole Me Too movement that we saw a couple of months ago. All of the women who came
05:56out, you know, defending and speaking against these massive stars, and there were repercussions.
06:02It wasn't just brush. They were denied work. Let's not forget, Parvati was denied work. She has come
06:07out open to Gulf News many times. In fact, Parvati was the first one to come and support her,
06:12but reshare Nayantara's post, along with actors like Nazria, Fahad Fazal's wife, which is a big
06:18deal. Very few people have, but it's also a great change. At least women are coming forward. There's
06:23a bit of sisterhood. It's not like, oh, glacial silence, etc. At the time, they were just boycotted,
06:29right? Don't you think there's a huge shift in how things are? Like a couple of years ago,
06:34I don't think actors, forget actors with the stature of Nayantara, even your smaller stars
06:39would never speak out, right? Times have definitely changed. It has become a much safer environment
06:46for women to express themselves, talk about the kind of safety standards that are set in
06:52the industry, talk about the mistreatment that they face. Exactly. Especially on a set.
06:59Yes. So, it's very interesting. In the open letter, she actually says that even on the set, you were
07:04not happy with me. I think their disagreements or perhaps their deprived animosity for each other,
07:11I think kind of stemmed from that film as well. And it kind of percolated and over the years,
07:15like you said, it festered and it blew up today. But it's also a great way, like many women are now
07:21talking about how there should be some kind of intellectual copyrights, even for actresses. She
07:26was in the movie as much. She was. So, it's not just the property, it does not just belong to
07:31Dhanush, does it? It was very much her film, as much as it was the producers, right? Yeah. So,
07:35there should be systemic change. Correct. At the end of the day, who does the property belong to?
07:40And they can't fight over a three second clip. I mean, the pettiness of it all is what irritates
07:45me. And you know what, I have covered entertainment for like 18 years. And what I have learned and
07:50what I've experienced is, stars are beautiful on the big screen, they look perfect, everything.
07:56But they can be very petty. A small review, a wrong word here and there, they keep that for years
08:03and then they show it in by denying you an interview. In this case, I'm sure Nayanthara
08:07has reached a stature where she's kind of insulated. Perhaps she doesn't care if she's
08:11boycotted as much, where she's denied work. Was she denied work over this issue?
08:16There was a time during an award ceremony where she was receiving the award and she publicly,
08:22in a very jovial manner said, I know that Dhanush was not happy with my performance
08:27in that film and I apologize for that as well. So, clearly things were not right between them.
08:33But for Nayanthara to, you know, to put it out all in the open just a day before her
08:38documentary release, I have seen the documentary, It's No Great Shakes, but I had to give it to her
08:45for standing up for what she believes is right. And I think that's what.
08:49Can I also ask you, do you think, and I might sound anti-feminist or, you know, playing the
08:55devil's advocate here, but do you think all of this is also a ploy to ensure that, you know,
09:00her documentary gets the eyeballs that she wants it to get?
09:05Actually, you won't believe this. I was thinking the same. I was like, what a fantastic PR strategy.
09:10But this does her more damage. I mean, all of these actors, they look at the bigger picture.
09:16They're not going to, see Netflix has already paid her. She's already made the money.
09:21She's going to get the views anyway because it's Nayanthara. I don't think any woman or she needs
09:26to stoop down to such a level to get publicity. She's not like the queen of reality. Sure, she's
09:32got a body of work behind her. She's one of the most low profile actors. She doesn't do interviews
09:38very often. She doesn't talk about her personal life very often. So there's a lot of interest in
09:42her. So I refuse to believe that she did this for publicity because it's very reductive to
09:49think so, because if she had been, let's say a Kim K of South India, then I would have given it to
09:54her, you know, what no publicity is bad publicity, that kind of thing. I don't think she needs that.
09:59But it's interesting that you thought it. I don't think, Dhanusha, people are alone, but don't you
10:03think it's just generally amazing to see women just come out there, especially female actors,
10:08taking a stand? 100%, 100%. And I think it's such an extraordinary example for, you know,
10:15the younger stars or the newcomers or even kids who are like watching these women on the silver
10:22screen as well as on their mobile phones, right? Like, oh, okay, it is a safe environment. It is
10:27a place where I can express my opinions. And yes, there is backlash. But again, there is also an
10:33army of people. Parvati, of course, she is a shining example, you know. She's fierce. She's
10:39super fierce. So I think it kind of balances it out, though there is a lot of negative noise,
10:45banter, and a lot of character assassination on social media. But at the same time,
10:53there's also this whole positive support and sisterhood, like you said, that's kind of forming
11:00up behind these women who are speaking out. So it's nice to see that sort of balance happening,
11:05unlike before, where it was just like a one-sided, you know, cancel thing.
11:09I don't think, you know, in the past, any woman, even if, no matter if you are an A-lister, would
11:15have taken such a daring and bold step. So full marks to Nayanthara. We are following this story
11:21very closely. And as always, you can log on to gulfnews.com. Our entertainment section has
11:29enough stories on this topic. Do read them and let us know if you think Nayanthara is brave or not.