Naanum Rowdy Dhaan: The film that changed Dhanush-Nayanthara’s equation forever

Director Vignesh Shivan’s Naanum Rowdy Dhaan holds a special place in Nayanthara’s heart for many reasons. It proved that she’s a talented performer who could move you with her act. It also marked a significant personal milestone as the film gave the actor her now-husband, Vignesh Shivan. However, the film also strained her professional and personal relationship with Dhanush, the film’s producer.
After her Telugu film Sri Rama Rajyam in 2011, Nayanthara announced that she had quit films. By then, she had suffered a lot due to scrutiny of her relationships with her previous partners, Silambarasan and Prabhudheva. And several other reasons contributed to her quitting cinema at the peak of her career.
It was Atlee who brought her back to movies with Raja Rani in 2013. The film also marked his debut as a director. Raja Rani, a modern take on a love story, went on to become a blockbuster. Her subsequent films did not fetch her the success she intended.
Here’s the trailer of Raja Rani:

Two years later, Nayanthara’s career peaked as she struck gold after gold. With Thani Oruvan and Maya, she proved that she is here not just to stay but to make a mark in the male-dominated industry. While Thani Oruvan was an investigative thriller, Maya was a mind-bending horror film headlined by her.
Her hat trick came through director Vignesh Shivan’s Naanum Rowdy Dhaan, which was released in 2015. The film saw her playing the role of a hearing-impaired woman named Kadhambari, who is out there in the dangerous world seeking revenge for the death of her father. She takes the help of a local rowdy, Pondi Paandi (Vijay Sethupathi) to get the job done.
During the filming of Naanum Rowdy Dhaan, rumours about Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan’s brewing romance started doing the rounds, courtesy the intimate photos of the duo that made their way to the Internet. During one of the press meets, actor Mansoor Ali Khan took a jibe at the couple, stating that they were always talking to each other even under the scorching sun. It solidified their relationship.

One of the early photos of Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan

Nayanthara’s role as a hearing impaired woman was revolutionary at that point. She pulled off comedy, made people cry with her and also fall in love with her vulnerability. Be it her performance or her slick look, she went all out in bringing Kadhambari to life. And boy she did! She won multiple awards for her exceptional performance.
While Naanum Rowdy Dhaan was also a golden moment in her career, it also made her personal life beautiful. Today, she is happily married to Vignesh Shivan and is a mother to twin baby boys, Uyir and Ulag. The two have been in a solid relationship since 2015.
Before Naanum Rowdy Dhaan, Nayanthara and Dhanush collaborated for Yaaradi Nee Mohini, in which they played the lead roles. They forged a great friendship, which was visible in all the interviews that they gave during the film’s release.
When Dhanush came forward to produce Vignesh Shivan and Nayanthara’s Naanum Rowdy Dhaan, it opened up great avenues for the film. However, it wasn’t a cakewalk for Dhanush as a producer. When the film was in production in 2015, there were rumours doing the rounds in film circles that Dhanush wasn’t happy.
One of the major reasons for his disappointment was the overshooting of the budget. It was Nayanthara’s confidence in the film and in Vignesh Shivan that made her convince Dhanush and complete the film. Even today, many unconfirmed reports suggest that Naanum Rowdy Dhaan, despite being a box office success, wasn’t profitable to producer Dhanush as he had to sell the film at a lower price due to shooting delays and an increasing budget. While the distributors reaped profits, Dhanush didn’t. While these are mere rumours, the truth about the film’s box office performance and profits will be known only to producer Dhanush.

Varun, co-founder of Tentlotta, a streaming platform for non-Indian audience and founder of SJ Cinemas, shared his opinion about how the shooting was delayed.

Naanum Rowdy Dhaan was the last time that Nayanthara and Dhanush collaborated for a project. The film changed their equation forever and now, it has come to the point that Nayanthara is levelling serious allegations against Dhanush.
In her open letter to Dhanush, she claimed that during the production of Naanum Rowdy Dhaan, the Asuran actor said some rude things to them that still remain an unhealable scar. She also stated that Dhanush wasn’t happy with the film’s success.
Going by her letter, it looks like the differences between the two have been brewing for years. She said that she has reached out to Dhanush for the past two years to obtain an NOC (No Objection Certificate) to use clippings from Naanum Rowdy Dhaan in her upcoming Netflix documentary, Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairytale. Dhanush vehemently denied this and has now sent her a notice demanding Rs 10 crore for using three seconds of BTS visuals from Naanum Rowdy Dhaan.
Nayanthara’s scathing remarks about Dhanush’s public image and his personal grudge against her and her partner have raised eyebrows in the Tamil film industry. Her open letter has sparked discussions on intellectual property rights and fuelled fan wars between Nayanthara’s and Dhanush’s fans.