Gautam Menon seeks time till September 31, 2026 to release Dhruva Natchathiram

Tamil film director Gautam Vasudev Menon with actor ‘Chiyaan’ Vikram during the shooting of Dhruva Natchathiram. | Photo credit: FILE PHOTO

Film producer and director Gautam Vasudev Menon has once again approached the Madras High Court seeking an extension to the release of the much-awaited ‘Chiyan’ starrer Vikram Dhruva Natchathiram. This time, he was looking for time until September 31, 2026, to get the film into theaters once the financial issues are resolved.

Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy on Thursday (September 3, 2026) ordered the Supreme Court registry to list the extension application for hearing on September 11, 2026. The court had initially ordered the release of the film by June 15, 2026, and then extended the timeline at Mr. Menon’s instance.

The financial issues with the film’s release stem from a theatrical distribution deal entered into in March 2016 by two investors K. Punniamoorthy and K. Premkumar with one Madan Panday of Escape Artists Motion Pictures for Dhanush-starrer Enai Noki Paayum Thota.

There was a dispute between them about this film, and therefore arbitration proceedings were initiated. A compromise was subsequently reached between the parties and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in March 2018 whereby Mr. Pandy transferred 50% of his rights in Dhruva Natchathiram to Mr. Punniamoorthy and Mr. Premkumar.

The rights in Dhruva Natchathiram were reportedly given to two investors as Mr. Pandy was one of the partners in Kondaduvom Entertainment along with Mr. Menon and Reshma Ghatala. The investors therefore filed a civil suit in the Supreme Court in 2023 and obtained an interim injunction against the film’s release.

In April 2026, Justice Ramamoorthy observed that there would be no point in not allowing the film to be aired for years together as not only the litigants but also hundreds of other actors and technicians who worked on the film may end up suffering due to its non-release.

The judge allowed Mr. Menon to release the film on or before June 15, 2026 and clarified that a dedicated account should be opened in the scheduled bank in the name of Kondaduvom Entertainment to make all the necessary monetary transactions required to release the film.

He also appointed advocates MV Swaroop and HS Hredai as observers/supervisors to oversee the financial transactions to be done for the release of the film. The judge said that Mr. Menon should receive all the funds required for the release of the film only in a dedicated account and not in any other account.

Since then, Mr. Menon has regularly approached the court seeking an extension of time to release the film after clearing the hurdles.

Published – 03 Sep 2026 23:54 IST