Actresses support Nayanthara, male stars remain silent

On By Pranco

The controversy between the two actors over the documentary Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairytale has created a wave of reactions in the film industry. While several female actors have publicly shown their solidarity with Nayanthara, both symbolically and otherwise, male actors, including Vijay Sethupathi, have chosen to remain silent.

Actor Parvathy, who shared screen space with Dhanush in Maryan, responded with a ‘salute’ emoji to Nayanthara’s post before sharing it on her Instagram story. Others like Shruti Haasan, Aishwarya Lekshmi, as well as Aishwarya Rajesh Nazriya Fahadh, Anupama Parameswaran, Dia Mirza, singer Shilpa Rao and producer Ektaa Kapoor extended their support to Nayanthara by liking her post, which went viral within a few minutes.

The latest to join in was actor Janhvi Kapoor, who shared a still from the documentary with the caption, “Nothing more inspiring than watching a strong woman become a strong woman,” and added a red heart emoji.

“This is what empowerment is when women support women, especially in an industry that is patriarchal and steeped in misogyny. Men like these often feel that they can twist women, but this sisterhood will go a long way to prove otherwise,” said a female actor who did not wish to be named. “It takes a lot of strength for a female actor to stand up to these pillars of power. They are branded as troublemakers,” she adds.

On the other hand, several male actors including Naanum Rowdy Dhaan starrer Vijay Sethupathi have maintained a diplomatic silence on the issue.

Nayanthara, who is popularly called Lady Superstar of Tamil cinema, was served a legal notice by Dhanush to pay `10 crore in damages for using a ten-second clip from his film Naanum Rowdy Dhaan in the documentary. Ironically, this was the film where the romance between Nayanthara and her husband Vignesh Shivan had blossomed. Nayanthara posted an open letter accusing him of harboring ‘revenge’ and ‘personal grudge’ against her and her partner Vignesh Shivan.

Though Dhanush’s team has asked her to delete her letter, Nayanthara remains undeterred as she promotes her latest Rakkayie, with a telling caption when a woman is provoked: She doesn’t run, she declares war.