Dhanush (Tamil: தனுஷ்; born Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja on
28 July 1983), is an Indian film actor, occasional playback singer and
lyricist, working in the Tamil film industry. His filmography includes
critically acclaimed films like Kadhal Kondein, Pudhupettai, Mayakkam Enna and
commercially successful films like Thiruda Thirudi, Thiruvilayadal Arambam,
Polladhavan, Yaaradi Nee Mohini and Padikathavan. He won the National Film
Award for Best Actor for his performance in Aadukalam. He is the son of
Kasthuri Raja and the brother of Selvaraghavan, both directors in Tamil cinema.
Dhanush has been in the spotlight in the wake of the mass success of his song
"Why This Kolaveri Di".
career: 2001–04
Following his upbringing as the son of a
noted director, Dhanush debuted under the direction of Kasthuri Raja in the
Thulluvadho Ilamai with fellow debutant, Sherin. Upon release, the film fetch
up big reviews and was a blockbuster, following the story of his character,
Mahesh,and how his friends help him elope with his girlfriend.
But Dhanush's breakthrough film was in
his brother Selvaraghavan's first directorial venture, Kadhal Kondein. The film
portrayed Dhanush as a mentally-disturbed youth, Vinodh, who yearned for the
love of his friend, played by Sonia Agarwal, eventually turning possessive over
her. Upon release, the film won critical acclaim and became a commercial
success, catapulting Dhanush into the main foray of actors in Tamil films.]
Furthermore his next film, released later in 2003, Thiruda Thirudi became a
blockbuster. Appearing in his first hero-centric film, Dhanush earned Good
reviews for his portrayal opposite debutant Chaya Singh. Furthermore, his
performance in the song, Manmadha Rasa, was appreciated, subsequently earning
the song cult status.
Setback: 2004–05
Despite achieving three profitable
ventures in his first three films, Dhanush's following films all gained mixed
reviews and were commercial failures. The first failure was his first action
film, Pudhukottaiyilirundhu Saravanan opposite Aparna Pillai, was lamented by
critics as a "poor film".This was followed by Ramana's Sullan, which
received negative reviews. However the film, which had Sindhu Tolani as the
lead heroine, was dubbed into Telugu as Maurya.The third and most-criticized
failure was Dreams alongside two new heroines.The film directed by his father,
like their previous venture was released with reviews claiming it was another
adult film. This hampered the film's progress, and the film remains Dhanush's
biggest failure till date.
In 2005, Dhanush had two average grossers
in Devathaiyai Kanden and the much-hyped Balu Mahendra's Adhu Oru Kana Kaalam.
The former was a commercial venture, directed by debutant Boopathy Pandian,
which despite receiving average reviews on Dhanush's performance was dubbed
into Telugu] while the latter, an off-beat venture, which featured Dhanush
opposite Priyamani, received rave reviews but failed to succeed at the
box-office.
Breakthrough: 2006–2010
Dhanush's biggest film, in terms of
budget, till date is the 2006-released Pudhupettai. The film, re-united him
with his brother after their successful previous venture, pitted him against
two prominent heroines Sneha and Sonia Agarwal. The movie is about the rites of
passages in the life and times of an everyday-man who ends up as a dreaded
gangster, 'Kokki' Kumar, the role portrayed by Dhanush. A critic praised
Dhanush's realistic portrayal, claiming that "as the innocent boy who
transmogrifies into a bloody criminal, Dhanush is utterly believable. The
subtle changes in his body language and his ability to give every expression a
deeper meaning make the character more interesting. This is certainly one of
his better performances." The film which became universally critically
praised, failed to relate to Tamil Nadu audiences and ended up being an above
average grosser at the box-office, despite the positive reviews. The film fared
marginally better, in the Telugu dubbed version, titled Dhoolpet. Dhanush
achieved his first hit in three years with the commercial entertainer
Thiruvilayadal Arambam, alongside Shriya Saran and Prakash Raj. The comedy film
showed the relationship between a poor man who loved the sister of a
businessman. The film was well-received by critics and audiences alike.
Dhanush's first release of 2007, Parattai
Engira Azhagu Sundaram, bombed at the box-office, gaining negative reviews in
the process. The film, which was a remake of the successful Kannada language
film, Jogi, starred him opposite Meera Jasmine] However, his second film
Polladhavan released during Diwali 2007,] became a blockbuster at the box
office, in which his performance was raved. Polladhavan, based on 1948–Italian
neorealist The Bicycle Thieves, featured Dhanush opposite Divya Spandana, and
the film's "fresh screenplay" by director Vetrimaran helped the film
become a super hit.
The remake of a successful Telugu film
directed by his brother, was the plotline for Dhanush's first 2008 release.
Directed by debutant M. Jawahar, Yaaradi Nee Mohini with Nayantara became a big
blockbuster at the box-office. He later appeared in a cameo appearance, for his
father-in-law Rajnikanth's venture, Kuselan, being portrayed as himself in a
song sequence. His subsequent venture was Suraj's Padikathavan opposite
Tamannaah Bhatia which had a January 2009 release.His performance was praised,
with Sify.com citing that "Dhanush is in top form in his dance" and
"has improved a lot in action", with claims that the climax fight
featuring him was "outstanding" and the film had become a super hit,
giving Dhanush a "hat-trick of successes". His following 2010 films
Kutty and Uthama Puthiran, both collaborations with director Mithran Jawahar,
received mixed reviews and but were decent hits.
Aadukalam and the future:
2011–present
Dhanush's first 2011 release was
Aadukalam, marking his second collaboration with Vetrimaran, which he had shot
for over a period of three years. Dhanush played the role of a local
cockfighter, KP Karuppu and described the venture as his "dream project"
during production. The film gained very positive reviews and won six prizes at
the 58th National Film Awards, with Dhanush receiving accolades for his
performance including the National Film Award for Best Actor, becoming the
youngest actor to win the award. Dhanush appeared in an extended guest
appearance in Subramania Siva's Seedan, portraying the role of a god. His next
two ventures were action-masala films, Mappillai, a remake of his
father-in-law's same-titled 1989 comedy flick and Venghai by Hari, which both
opened to mixed reviews.
His next film, another collaboration with
his brother, Mayakkam Enna released to generally positive reviews and was
declared a successful venture at boxoffice. His forthcoming venture is 3
directed by his wife, Aishwarya Rajinikanth with Shruti Haasan paired opposite
him. The film particularly gained high popularity prior to the release, after
the single track "Why This Kolaveri Di", penned and sung by Dhanush
went viral.He has signed a fantasy period film Mareesan to be directed by
Chimbu Deven, as well as his first Hindi film titled Raanjhnaa that would be
directed by Aanand L Rai.
Other work
Dhanush occasionally works as a playback
singer and lyricist as well, generally in his own films. He was introduced as a
playback singer in Pudhukottaiyilirundhu Saravanan by its composer Yuvan
Shankar Raja and collaborated again with him in his brother Selvaraghavan's
directorial, Pudhupettai. He sung further numbers in Selvaraghavan's films
Aayirathil Oruvan and Mayakkam Enna; the former featured him alongside his wife
Aishwarya Rajinikanth. His biggest success became the song "Why this
Kolaveri Di" from his upcoming film 3, directed by his wife. The song
became viral on internet and gained overwhelming response, fetching Dhanush
nationwide fame. He had also sung another song "Kannazhaga" from the
same film with his co-star Shruti Haasan. He was nominated to become the brand
ambassador of PETA with the title of India's Hottest Vegetarian Celebrity of
2011.
