As
Nayanthara celebrates her 40th birthday today (Nov 18), her husband, filmmaker Vignesh Shivan, shared a touching tribute amidst ongoing controversy surrounding her wedding documentary, "Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairytale." Taking to Instagram Stories,
Vignesh Shivan posted a screenshot of the title slate of the documentary on his TV screen, accompanied by a heartfelt message: "Happy birthday my uyir… My respect for you is a million times more than the love I have for you! For who you are, my thangamey!"
However, the celebrations were overshadowed by a legal dispute between Nayanthara and actor-producer Dhanush. The controversy centers on the use of behind-the-scenes footage from the 2015 film Naanum Rowdy Dhaan in the documentary. The film, directed by Vignesh and produced by Dhanush, starred Nayanthara and Vijay Sethupathi.
Last week, Nayanthara accused Dhanush of withholding a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the footage, despite its brief inclusion in the Netflix project. In response, Dhanush reportedly filed a ₹10 crore copyright infringement case, citing the unauthorized use of a three-second clip from the film's behind-the-scenes content.
In a strongly worded letter, Nayanthara addressed the issue, alleging that Dhanush had held a grudge since the success of 'Naanum Rowdy Dhaan'. She referenced his past criticism of her performance before the movie’s blockbuster status and her Best Actress win at the 2016 Filmfare Awards.
The legal dispute has added an unexpected twist to the release of the documentary, which is already generating significant buzz.