{
  "id": 5384062,
  "title": "Gautam Menon seeks time till September 31, 2026 to release Dhruva Natchathiram",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/gautam-menon-seeks-time-till-september-31-2026-to-release-dhruva",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-03T18:24:27.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Hindu",
    "slug": "the-hindu",
    "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/gautam-menon-seeks-time-till-september-31-2026-to-release-dhruva-natchathiram/article71423096.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Film producer-director Gautam Vasudev Menon has once again sought the Madras High Court's permission to delay the release of his long-awaited film 'Chiyan' Vikram starrer Dhruva Natchathiram. This time, his request extends to September 31, 2026. The court, after hearing his plea, has set a hearing date for September 11, 2026. The financial hurdles in releasing the movie stem from a distribution agreement involving two investors, K. Punniamoorthy and K. Premkumar, who had a dispute with Mr. Menon's associate, Madan Pandy. A compromise was reached in March 2018, granting Mr. Pandy 50% of the rights in Dhruva Natchathiram. However, Mr. Pandy filed a civil suit in 2023, leading to an interim injunction against the movie's release. In April 2026, Justice Ramamoorthy allowed Mr. Menon to release the movie by June 15, 2026, under certain conditions. He mandated that all financial transactions be handled through a dedicated bank account, overseen by Mr. Menon's attorneys. Since then, Mr. Menon has been petitioning the court periodically to extend the release date.",
  "summary": "He has approached the Madras High Court once again seeking further time to get the movie released after solving financial issues",
  "key_points": [
    "Gautam Menon requests release delay until September 31, 2026",
    "Court sets hearing for September 11, 2026",
    "Distribution dispute with Pandy leads to injunction"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}