CHENNAI: A division bench of the Madras High Court on Monday dismissed the appeal filed by two film financiers against a single judge’s order for releasing Vikram-starrer Dhruva Natchathiram, a spy-thriller, which has been caught in a legal tangle for years. The appeal was filed by K Prem Kumar and K Punniyamoorthy who had a financial dispute with the moviemakers.
Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy, in an order dated April 30, 2026, had granted permission to release the movie with conditions, which included establishing a dedicated bank account in the name of Kondaduvom Entertainment, associated with the production of the film, for managing the revenue accrued through the release of the movie.
The judge also ordered that none of the directors of Kondaduvom Entertainment shall draw salary or share in profit without the prior permission of the court. Further, director Gautham Vasudeva Menon was ordered to raise adequate funds for settling the outstanding amount due to the creditors before the release of the movie.
The movie was slated for a 2023 release, but the civil suits and the subsequent interim injunctions threw a spanner in the works of the filmmakers, dragging it till now. The division bench comprised justices P Velmurugan and K Govindarajan Thilakavadi.