Nayanthara opens up about her open letter to Dhanush: 'Courage only comes from truth'
In the frame Nayanthara and Dhanush
Nayanthara has finally spoken up about her ongoing legal battle with actor Dhanush. A few days back, prior to the release of the Netflix special documentary Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairy Tale, the actress had written a scathing open letter to former co-star and producer Dhanush over his lawsuit for the "unauthorised" use of a clip from his 2015 production, Naanum Rowdy Dhaan in the documentary.
Weeks later, the actress opened up about the legal case in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter India.
‘Not a publicity stunt’
Explaining her actions to journalist Anupama Chopra, Nayanthara said “Courage only comes from the truth. I only have to be scared when I’m fabricating something. If I’m not doing that, I don’t have to be scared. If I didn’t speak out now, when things had already gone too far, I don’t think anyone would have the courage to stand up for themselves ever again.”
“Why should I be scared of doing something which I feel is right? I should be scared only if I’m doing something wrong. I’m not someone who would want to tarnish someone’s image just for the sake of publicity,” she added.
Nayanthara said her open letter was never intended to be a publicity stunt for her documentary.
She says Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairy Tale “is not about whether the film is a hit or a flop,” but about knowing a person more, if you like them. She then explained that the only part of Naanum Rowdy Dhaan she wanted were four lines that “summed up our life, our love, our kids.”
The 2015 film was helmed by Nayanthara's now-husband Vignesh Shivan and produced by Dhanush's Wunderbar Films. Nayanthara and Vignesh fell in love while making the film.
Nayanthara tried reaching out to Dhanush
The actress revealed that while she is not the kind to take steps to initiate conversation, she did reach out to Dhanush's manager, requesting them to get her on a call with him. She said she doesn't want to get into what went wrong in the last 10 years, but wanted to clear the air with Dhanush so that they are at least able to say ‘hi’ to each other in case they cross paths in the future.
Days after Nayanthara's letter went viral, the two crossed paths at a wedding and chose to ignore each other.Dhanush and Nayanthara's awkward photo at a wedding goes viral, 'so strategically seated' say fans
The actor also clarified that the footage they eventually used in the documentary was a behind-the-scenes shot captured by a crew member. She argued that people don't realise that behind-the-scenes footage wasn't a part of the contract then, as it is now, so it doesn't qualify for official footage.
Nayanthara hoped that given Dhanush is such a loved and reputed actor, he would let the issue go, but he only blew it out of proportion after the trailer release and slapped a legal case on her. Nayanthara was compelled to speak out with her scathing open letter soon after.
