Background and career
Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja (born 28 July 1983), known professionally as Dhanush, is an Indian actor, filmmaker, lyricist and playback singer who works primarily in Tamil films, as well as few Hindi and Telugu films. Having starred in 50 films over his career, his accolades include six National Film Awards, two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, fourteen SIIMA Awards, eight Filmfare Awards South and a Filmfare Award. One of the highest paid actors in Tamil cinema, he has been included in the Forbes India Celebrity 100 list six times. Dhanush's debut film was Thulluvadho Ilamai, a 2002 coming-of-age film directed by his father, Kasthuri Raja. He achieved further success in Polladhavan (2007) and Yaaradi Nee Mohini (2008), both of which were critically acclaimed and commercially successful. His role as a rooster fight jockey in Aadukalam (2010) won him the National Film Award for Best Actor and the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil. He continued success with films, including Maryan (2013), Velaiilla Pattadhari (2014), Anegan (2015), Maari (2015), Kodi (2016), Vada Chennai (2018), Asuran (2019), Thiruchitrambalam (2022), Vaathi (2023) and Raayan (2024), the lattermost of which emerged as his highest-grossing release. Dhanush won his second National Film Award for Best Actor for Asuran (2019). In 2011, Dhanush's popular song "Why This Kolaveri Di" from the romantic psychological thriller film 3 (2012) became the first Indian music video to cross 100 million views on YouTube. He made his Hindi film debut with Aanand L. Rai's Raanjhanaa (2013). His performance as an obsessive one-sided lover in the film won him the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut in addition to a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor. Dhanush produces films through his production company, Wunderbar Films, and made his directorial debut with Pa. Pandi (2017). His song "Rowdy Baby" from Maari 2 became one of the most-viewed Indian songs of all time. It is the first South Indian video song to reach one billion views on YouTube.
Dhanush was born as Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja on 28 July 1983 to Tamil film director and producer, Kasthuri Raja, and his wife, Vijayalakshmi, in Madras, Tamil Nadu. Initially he wished to study Hotel Management and become a chef. However his elder brother, film director Selvaraghavan, pressured him to become an actor. Dhanush also has two sisters named Vimalageetha and Karthiga Karthik.
Venkatesh Prabhu adopted the stage name, "Dhanush", after being inspired by the fictional covert operation from Kuruthipunal (1995). He debuted in the 2002 teen drama film Thulluvadho Ilamai, directed by his father Kasthuri Raja, which became a sleeper hit. He then appeared in his brother Selvaraghavan's first directorial venture, the romantic psychological thriller Kaadhal Kondein in 2003. The film portrayed Dhanush as a mentally-disturbed youth, Vinodh, who yearned for the love of his friend, eventually turning possessive of her. Upon release, the film opened to critical acclaim and proved to be a major commercial success, eventually becoming Dhanush's breakthrough in Tamil cinema. The film also fetched him his first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil. His next film was the romantic comedy Thiruda Thirudi (2003), a critical and commercial success. In 2004, Dhanush appeared in Pudhukottaiyilirundhu Saravanan and Sullan. Later, he also appeared in Dreams, another film panned by critics. The film was directed by his father, like their previous ventures. In 2005, Dhanush appeared in Devathaiyai Kanden and in the same year, he also worked on Balu Mahendra's Adhu Oru Kana Kaalam. Though it was a commercial disaster at the box office, Dhanush has repeatedly stated that he started taking acting seriously only after working with Mahendra. In 2006, he reunited with his brother for the cult gangster film, Pudhupettai. It portrayed a young man's journey from a street urchin to gangster, receiving mixed reviews, initially, though Dhanush's performance received major praise and he subsequently received his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil. However, over the years, the film has undergone a critical re-evaluation and is now considered to be one of the greatest Tamil films ever made, whilst also garnering a huge cult following. That same year, he also reunited with Boopathy Pandian after Devathaiyai Kanden, for the romantic comedy, Thiruvilaiyaadal Aarambam, opposite Shriya Saran and Prakash Raj. A critic from Sify stated, "Dhanush as the hyperactive Thiru is simply superb and his ability to deliver funny lines casually is uncommendable." It was a major commercial success, a first for Dhanush, after several average and below-average grossers. Dhanush's first release of 2007, Parattai Engira Azhagu Sundaram did not do well at the box office. The film was a remake of the successful Kannada language film Jogi (2005). However, his second film Polladhavan was released during Diwali 2007. Polladhavan was based on the 1948–Italian neorealist film Bicycle Thieves and Dhanush's performance was appreciated.
The following year, the remake of a Telugu film directed by his brother formed the plot line for Dhanush's next film directed by debutant Mithran Jawahar, later titled Yaaradi Nee Mohini opposite Nayanthara. The romantic comedy proved to be a major critical and commercial success, thus earning Dhanush his third nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil. He later appeared in a cameo appearance, for his father-in-law Rajinikanth's venture Kuselan. His subsequent venture was Suraj's Padikathavan, which was released in January 2009. His performance was praised and well received. The film was a box office success and established Dhanush as a bankable star. His next two films Kutty and Uthama Puthiran opposite Genelia D'Souza, were both collaborations with director Mithran Jawahar. The latter emerged a box office success. The song "Un Mele Aasaidhaan" from the action-adventure film Aayirathil Oruvan, which featured him alongside his then wife Aishwarya Rajinikanth, won him his first Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer – Tamil.
Dhanush's first release in 2011, which he had shot for over three years, was Aadukalam opposite Taapsee Pannu, marking his second collaboration with Vetrimaran. Dhanush played the role of a local cockfighter and described the venture as his "dream project" during production. The film gained widespread critical acclaim and won six awards at the 58th National Film Awards, with Dhanush receiving the National Film Award for Best Actor, He also won his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil for his performance. The film was a commercial success at the box office. Pavithra Srinivasan of Rediff.com called it "one of Dhanush's best works to date" and added, "Dhanush acts wonderfully. He's excellent, especially in the throes of love and betrayal." Dhanush appeared in an extended guest appearance in Subramania Siva's Seedan. His next two ventures were the action films, Mappillai, a remake of his father-in-law's same-titled 1989 film and Venghai, by Hari, which received mixed reviews but was a commercial success. Dhanush's next film, Mayakkam Enna, in which he once again collaborated with his brother. He played a photographer opposite Richa Gangopadhyay. The film received positive reviews and was a moderate success. Dhanush's career marked a turning point with his only release in 2012, the romantic psychological thriller 3, directed by his then wife, Aishwarya and produced by him. He played a bipolar disorder patient opposite Shruti Haasan. The film emerged as a critical and commercial success, majorly due to the popularity of the song "Why This Kolaveri Di". The song quickly became viral, the first video from India to gain 100 million YouTube views. The film won him his second consecutive Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil and his second Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer – Tamil. L Romal M Singh of DNA India noted, "Dhanush is amazing! The man only surpasses his previous films and the actor has far outdone his previous attempt at such a role."
Dhanush first two releases in 2013 saw him appear in cameo roles in the Malayalam film Proprietors: Kammath & Kammath and the Tamil film Ethir Neechal. He then appeared in Maryan opposite Parvathy, which emerged as an above-average grosser at the box office, but was critically acclaimed, thus earning Dhanush his sixth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil, in addition to fetching him the Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Critics) – Tamil. His next release that year was Naiyaandi opposite Nazriya Nazim, directed by A. Sarkunam, which did not make any notable impact at the box office. Dhanush expanded to Hindi films with Raanjhanaa, directed by Aanand L.Rai. He played a Tamil Hindu boy who is in love with a Muslim girl (played by Sonam Kapoor). The film was released on 21 June 2013 with the Tamil dubbed version Ambikapathy releasing a week later. It grossed over ₹105 crore worldwide, becoming a commercial success and one of the highest grossing film of the year. Taran Adarsh noted, "Dhanush, who makes his Hindi film debut, is simply outstanding. To state that he's the mainstay of the film would be most appropriate." Sukanya Verma praised him for being "wonderful, tangible and indefatigable". His performance earned him the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut.Dhanush's sole film of 2014 was the comedy-drama Velaiilla Pattadhari opposite Amala Paul, which was also his 25th film and was directed by Velraj. It received positive reviews from critics and was a commercial success, ranking among the highest-grossing Tamil films of 2014. Dhanush won his third Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil for his performance in the film. The Telugu dubbed version, Raghuvaran B. Tech, was also a success. Baradwaj Rangan stated: "Dhanush gets a film where he gets to showcase both sides ... [Velraj has] given actor-Dhanush fans half a movie to love, and he's handed over the rest to the star-Dhanush fans. Is there much use complaining when both actor and star are in such fine form?" In 2015, his first release was Shamitabh, which was also his second Hindi film, directed by R. Balki. It opened to highly positive reviews and was praised for the concept, but failed at the box office. His next film was Anegan, a psychological thriller directed by K. V. Anand. He played four characters in different eras opposite Amyra Dastur. The film received positive reviews and became a box office success. The film earned Dhanush his eighth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil. Dhanush then played a local gangster opposite Kajal Aggarwal in Maari. The film was a critical and commercial success. In Thanga Magan, Dhanush played a man struggling for job opposite Samantha Ruth Prabhu. Despite positive reviews, it failed at the box office.
