As the ongoing dispute between Nayanthara and Dhanush over the use of footage from Naanum Rowdy Dhaan continues to grab attention, a heartwarming anecdote from their past has resurfaced, highlighting the strong friendship they once shared. In the early stages of Dhanush's production company Wunderbar Productions, Nayanthara had agreed to appear in an item number titled "Local Boys" for the 2013 film Ethir Neechal, starring Sivakarthikeyan and Priya Anand.
The song, composed by Anirudh Ravichandran, featured Nayanthara in a cameo role.
In a conversation with host Divyadharshini on her show Coffee with DD almost a decade ago in Vijay TV, Dhanush and Sivakarthikeyan fondly recalled how Nayanthara volunteered to be part of the song without any monetary compensation.
When Divyadharshini asked Samantha or Nayanthara, Dhanush said, "In this, Nayanthara is our friend (Siva and I)."
Elaborating the statement, Sivakarthikeyan said, "When we asked her, she (Nayan) offered to do a song for us in Ethir Neechal without even thinking much."
Dhanush remarked, "She did not even get money for the song. Just since we asked, she said, 'You are my friend and I won't take money from you.'"
Dhanush, who produced Ethir Neechal, had asked Nayanthara to be part of the song for which she agreed despite her busy schedule filming with Ajith.
In another interview to The New Indian Express, Ethir Neechal Director R S Dorai Senthil Kumar said Nayanthara agreed when Dhanush asked her for the song. He said that Nayanthara played a role as the woman with whom Dhanush (cameo) was previously in a relationship.
Nayanthara Vs Dhanush
Though the collaboration was a testament to the friendship, currently a controversy has arose with Nayanthara's Netflix documentary—where she claims Dhanush denied permission to use content from Naanum Rowdy Dhaan, produced by him.
In her open letter, Nayanthara expressed her disappointment over Dhanush's refusal to grant permission for the use of the film's songs and visuals in her documentary, leading to a legal notice demanding Rs 10 crores in damages for alleged misuse of three seconds of footage. Nayanthara accused Dhanush of holding a personal grudge, and criticised his actions as contradictory to the image he projects in public.