Director Gautam Menon Seeks More Time for Long-Delayed Vikram Film

For nearly a decade, fans of Tamil cinema have waited for Gautam Vasudev Menon’s Dhruva Natchathiram, starring ‘Chiyaan’ Vikram. Now, in a fresh appeal to the Madras High Court, the director is asking for more time—until September 31, 2026—to finally bring the film to screens, once he untangles a web of financial complications.

A Story of Delays and Disputes

The roots of this delay stretch back to March 2016, when investors K. Punniamoorthy and K. Premkumar signed a theatrical distribution agreement with Madan Pandy of Escape Artists Motion Pictures for another film, Enai Noki Paayum Thota. A dispute led to arbitration, and a compromise was reached in March 2018. As part of that deal, Pandy transferred 50% of his rights in Dhruva Natchathiram to Punniamoorthy and Premkumar.

Legal Hurdles and Hopes

Those investors later filed a civil suit and secured an interim injunction against the film’s release in 2023. But in April 2026, Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy took a pragmatic view. He observed that blocking the film helped no one—not the parties in court, nor the hundreds of actors and technicians who worked on it. The judge originally set a June 15, 2026 deadline for release, under strict financial oversight.

“No purpose would be served in not letting the movie release for years together,” Justice Ramamoorthy noted, highlighting the widespread impact of the delay.

What Comes Next

Now, Menon is back, asking for more time to clear the remaining financial hurdles. The court has directed the registry to list his application for hearing on September 11, 2026. For now, the dedicated bank account for the film’s transactions, supervised by court-appointed advocates, remains central to any path forward.