Madras HC dismisses Netflix’s plea to reject suit filed by Dhanush against Nayanthara

The Madras High Court on Tuesday (January 28, 2025) dismissed an application filed by Los Gatos Production Services India LLP, an entity through which OTT platform Netflix reports its content investments in India, to reject a civil suit filed by actor Dhanush’s Wunderbar Films Private Limited against actor Nayanthara Kurian and her director-husband Vignesh Sivan regarding the dispute over the docu-drama Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairytale.

The Madras High Court on Tuesday (January 28, 2025) dismissed an application filed by Los Gatos Production Services India LLP, an entity through which OTT platform Netflix reports its content investments in India, to reject a civil suit filed by actor Dhanush’s Wunderbar Films Private Limited against actor Nayanthara Kurian and her director-husband Vignesh Sivan regarding the dispute over the docu-drama Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairytale.

Justice Abdul Quddhose also dismissed another application filed by Los Gatos to revoke the leave that the judge had granted to Wunderbar to file the suit in the Madras High Court though the applicant was based in Mumbai. The judge agreed with senior counsel P.S. Raman, assisted by Gautam S. Raman, that the applications filed by Los Gatos do not deserve to be entertained by the High Court.

He also listed for hearing on February 5, an application filed by Wunderbar seeking an interim relief in the suit filed by it against Ms. Nayanthara, Mr. Sivan, her Rowdy Pictures Private Limited, and Los Gatos for having used certain visuals related to the Tamil movie Naanum Rowdy Dhaan in the Netflix docu-drama.

In his affidavit, the director of Wunderbar Films Sreyas Srinivasan contended that neither Ms. Nayanthara nor Netflix was entitled to use any footage, including the behind-the-scenes (BTS) visuals, related to the 2015 Tamil flick produced by the applicant company without obtaining prior permission from the producer.

He said, Ms. Nayanthara had entered into an artist’s agreement with Wunderbar Films on August 27, 2014, vesting all rights of every kind and character in perpetuity with regard to her performance, appearance, likeness, name, and/or voice in connection with the movie.

“In view of clause 4 of the artist agreement, the applicant owns the copyright over all the artists’ performance in connection with the cinematograph film meaning thereby that if any picture or video of the artist is captured as long as they are in their character on the set of the cinematograph film, the copyright over the same vests only with the applicant,” the applicant asserted.

On finding the BTS visuals having been used without authorisation in the trailer of the docu-drama, Wunderbar claimed to have issued a notice to Netflix on November 9, 2024. However, it received a reply from Netflix as well as Tarc Studios LLP, the producers of the docu-drama, on November 11, 2024, stating that those visuals were personal in nature and not shot by persons commissioned by Wunderbar.