Actress Nayanthara finds herself at the receiving end of misogyny

#CharacterlessLadyNAYANTHARA is trending on X, and as one person aptly put it, "D fans ruling Twitter (X) since afternoon". A barrage of misogynistic posts against actress Nayanthara are trending on the social media solely because of the open letter she wrote to actor Dhanush on 16 November.

Dhanush sent the actress a legal notice demanding Rs 10 crore for damages he claims she caused by using an unauthorized 3-second clip from the movie Naanum Rowdy Dhaan he produced for her upcoming documentary Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairytale.

In the open letter, she claims Dhanush harbours "vengeance" and a "personal grudge" against her, her project and her partner after battling for an No Objection Certificate (NOC) for two years and waiting for his approval for the release of the documentary. She proceeded to vent out in two more pages that have resulted in polarizing reactions.

Nayanthara, the "Lady Superstar" a deeply loved actress in the Tamil film industry, who has appeared in Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada films, was paraded is "characterless" and at the receiving end of aggressive, hateful and mean remarks from passionate Dhanush fans. Nayanthara in her letter pointed out that she, an outsider, holds her current fame and position because of her hard work and work ethic; dismissed by many claiming Dhanush has much more to work for.

Maybe this issue doesn't have to become about sexism and misogyny (it is though, fundamentally) but the lewd suggestions made to the actress, the viciousness in the tone used to retaliate against her have resulted from the absurd blind faith Dhanush's fans have in him, which in a sick and twisted way, is aspirational, if you're not a woman.

'Naanum Rowdy Dhaan' introduced Nayanthara to her husband Vignesh Shivan given he wrote the movie. Tamil cinema enthusiasts on Reddit claim that Dhanush had no faith in the movie and felt like he "funded" the romance between the actress and the writer. The movie, however, did very well at the box-office and gave Nayanthara her Filmfare award for best actress. The actress has won numerous accolades for her work spanning two decades. Yet, it is not enough compared to Dhaush, a divorcee.

The misogyny among Dhanush fans who are faithfully supported by Vijay fans and people across industries have penned Nayanthara guilty of committing an injustice against Dhanush in their X bubble's media trial.

@itz_Vibeyy posted on X that "All Thalapathy Fans will support Dhanush for his justice..!!" followed by @AjayGowda_NTR who posted I don't know what happened exactly But I stands with #Dhanush anna He owned that respect from our Telugu audience Whatever happened he is always right #DhanushVsNayanthara #Nayanathara

The Hema Committee report released by the Kerala government states that sexual exploitation is rampant in the Malayalam film industry. According to the report, the Malayalam film industry denies opportunities to those who are not ready to "cooperate" and grant sexual favours. There is a general perception that actresses are here to make money and will therefore share a bed with anyone.

The male gaze, turning actresses into sexual male fantasies to appease patriarchy, slut and body shame women working the film industry is rampant across continents. Films reflect, project and glorify what already exists.