Madras High Court Paves Way for Release of Gautham Vasudev Menon's Dhruva Natchathiram Subject To Conditions

The Madras High Court recently permitted the release of Dhruva Natchathiram, a Gautham Vasudev Menon directorial, subject to the condition that pre-release payments be made to creditors and that all revenues from the film be routed through a court-monitored bank account.

The film, which stars Chiyaan Vikram in the lead role, has been delayed by nearly eight years since it was first slated for release.

The injunction had originally been obtained in 2023 by two parties to the production agreement, K. Punniyamoorthy and K. Premkumar, who invoked an arbitration clause in their agreement with Escape Artists Motion Pictures and sought pre-reference interim relief to restrain the film's release.

The respondents comprise the film's production entities and partners, including Escape Artists Motion Pictures, director Gautham Vasudev Menon, his co-partner S. Venkataraman, and the production firm Kondaduvom Entertainment.

The proceedings also saw the intervention of multiple third-party creditors, including Marina Holdings and Rajkumar Sethupathy, Acolyte Private Limited, Trident Arts, and All in Pictures, each of whom had outstanding claims supported by arbitral awards, court decrees, or undertakings.

Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy recorded that “At the suggestion of the Court, the applicants agreed to the release of the movie subject to certain terms and conditions. Likewise, the respondents also agreed subject to the discharge of payment obligations before and after the release of the movie.”

Kondaduvom Entertainment, through an affidavit affirmed by Menon on April 27, disclosed that Rs. 40.9 crore had been raised by pledging various rights in the film and Rs. 18.16 crore by sale of rights. Vendor dues of Rs. 52.82 lakh were also disclosed.

Among the pre-release payment obligations recorded by the court were Rs. 9 crore payable to Marina Holdings and Rajkumar Sethupathy under an arbitral award dated August 17, 2022, upon which the distribution rights over the Chengalpet area would stand released, and Rs. 1.5 crore payable to Acolyte Private Limited towards a High Court decree.

In addition, Rs. 2.25 crore is to be paid to Trident Arts from Menon's personal sources, and Rs. 2.4 crore to All in Pictures, also from Menon's personal funds, the latter not being directly connected to the film.

The court recorded that interest at 12% per annum on the principal amounts raised through pledged rights would be payable after release from the film's revenues.

To ensure compliance, the bench directed that “the fourth respondent shall open a dedicated and designated account in the name of Kondaduvom Entertainment in relation to the movie DHRUVA NATCHATHIRAM in any scheduled bank with the prior consent of the above Observers/Overseers.”

Two advocates were appointed as observers to oversee the operation of this account, with the court directing that “without the prior consent of at least one of the Observers/Overseers, the bank shall not permit debits.”

The court further directed that “No payment shall be made from said account to any of the partners of Kondaduvom Entertainment either towards remuneration or share of profit without the prior leave of this Court,” and that “No lien shall be marked on amounts received in this account by any person without the leave of this Court.”

The applicants were also restrained from “directly or indirectly, impeding the release of the movie DHRUVA NATCHATHIRAM in any manner.”

The third parties who invoked the arbitration undertook to ensure that the film is released on or before June 15, 2026, with liberty to seek an extension if release cannot be effected despite best efforts.