Advocate General and Senior Advocate P.S. Raman, representing Wunderbar Films, argued that Nayanthara had violated the Copyright Act, 1957, by using the footage without approval.
Madras: Wunderbar Films, the production house owned by actor Dhanush, claimed before the Madras High Court on Wednesday that it holds the copyright for all aspects of the 2015 movie Naanum Rowdy Dhaan, including the characters and even the costumes used in the film.
Despite this, the production house alleged that actress Nayanthara, who played a lead role in the movie, used 28 seconds of behind-the-scenes footage from the film in her documentary aired on Netflix India, without prior permission.
Advocate General and Senior Advocate P.S. Raman, representing Wunderbar Films, argued that Nayanthara had violated the Copyright Act, 1957, by using the footage without approval.
Raman stated before Justice Abdul Quddhose,
“We (the firm and Nayanthara) signed an agreement saying I have the copyright over every character, everything to do with the film. I even have copyright over the costumes she (Nayanthara) has worn in my film. So, the suit is not barred. It has a cause of action and can go for hearing.”
Raman made these submissions while responding to two applications filed by Los Gatos Production Services (Netflix’s India content investment entity). Los Gatos sought the rejection of the earlier leave granted to Wunderbar Films to sue Nayanthara and also requested the outright dismissal of the case.
Senior Advocate R. Parthasarathy, appearing for Los Gatos, contended that the Madras High Court does not have jurisdiction to hear the case. He pointed out that Wunderbar’s registered office is in Kanchipuram district and not Chennai.
ALSO READ: ‘Unauthorized Use of Visuals in Netflix’: Actor Dhanush Sues Nayanthara Before Madras HC
According to Parthasarathy, as per Section 62 of the Copyright Act, 1957, Wunderbar should have approached the Kanchipuram District Court or, as per Clause 12 of the Letters Patent Act, 1865, the Bombay High Court, since Netflix’s registered office is in Mumbai.
Parthasarathy questioned:
“How did you come to Madras? You have chosen Section 62 of the Copyright Act. Therefore, your remedy is before Kanchipuram court. In Kanchipuram, you don’t even need leave (permission of the Court to file such suit and implead the said defendants).”
Senior Advocate Raman countered this by explaining that when Nayanthara signed her contract for the film in 2015, both she and Wunderbar Films had registered offices in Chennai. Furthermore, part of the movie was filmed in Chennai, and the Netflix documentary was released across India, including Chennai. Raman argued:
“Therefore, Wunderbar had every right to file its suit before the Madras High Court.”
On November 16, Nayanthara shared on her social media that she was shocked to receive a Rs.10 crore legal notice from Dhanush after the release of the Netflix documentary trailer. She alleged that Dhanush held a personal grudge against her and her husband.
In her words:
“I was shocked to receive a legal notice from Dhanush seeking damages of Rs.10 crore after the release of the Netflix documentary trailer about me, in which three seconds of behind-the-scenes footage of Naanum Rowdy Dhaan had been used.”
Nayanthara, the third defendant in the case, is represented by Senior Advocate Satish Parasaran. The High Court has recorded all submissions and reserved its judgment on the two applications filed by Los Gatos.
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