A full-force dispute has broken out between two leading actors of Tamil Cinema, Nayanthara and Dhanush over a short clip on her Netflix documentary – over which Dhanush has demanded ₹ 10 crores for using the footage from his production of ‘Naanum Rowdy Dhaan’. Nayanthara has replied to the same with a no-filter, three-page letter addressing Dhanush as “schadenfreude” (a German word which means-pleasure derived by someone from another person’s misfortune)
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What should’ve been a legal squabble between the parties soon became ‘content’ on social media and within minutes, personal attacks on the actresses and her romantic endeavors had been dragged to slut-shame and ‘humiliate’ her. This isn’t a new affair on social media, neither is it new for Nayanthara – the veteran actress has always been victim to meaningless trolls, name-calling, and misogyny from fans of all actors over trivial and personal matters of romantic relationships, bodily autonomy (her surrogacy), and choice of films.
Fans who became experts in copyright laws overnight, took it upon them to bring justice to Dhanush, by posting intimate clips of the actress with her male counterparts from the films she’s worked in, and pictures from social gatherings and asking if those will be used in the documentary too; asking why should Dhanush give an NOC for her wedding documentary with her third boyfriend.
People were quick to call her talentless and question the legitimacy of the titles given to her. Sure, no artist is beyond criticism but is mass trolling and cyberbullying the actress the minute she questions someone in power the way to do it? So what if she marries her third boyfriend? So what if she was open about her past relationships? So what if she chooses to have a surrogate baby? And so what if she makes herself a brand, starts a skincare company?
This isn’t limited to the Nayanthara-Dhanush debacle alone nor is it only cine-space confined; the collective response from social media is a reflection of how it is for women outside of it too. Women in workspaces battle heavy hesitation before calling out the men in power, and when they do, they are called arrogant, too proud and their character is questioned by the classic ‘ava mattum ena yokkiyam ah?’ expression.
But who is anyone to debase the character of a woman? What gives anybody the right to drag Nayanthara’s surrogacy, or her stardom, or her choice to sell her wedding documentary to an OTT platform to a debate on a legal matter? End of the day, however, she is a Tier 1 actress, she is going to be unfazed by these trolls; but what about the women you meet everyday? The ingrained misogyny and power politics derived through gender roles of our society makes it difficult for a woman to call out a man without endangering her job or being a victim to needless slut shaming and humiliation – where her personal life is dragged to public scrutiny.
