Dhanush

Dhanush

Date of Birth: February 25, 1983

Born Venkatesh Prabhu in India, Dhanush is the son of Tamil film director/producer Kasthuri Raja, who cast Dhanush in his first film role in the coming-of-age film Thulluvadho Ilamai (2002).

His follow-up film came in his brother Selvaraghavan’s directorial debut, Kadhal Kondein (2003), which won critical acclaim and was a commercial success.

Over the next several years, Dhanush would see both highs and lows with his Tamil language films, such as Dreams (2004), Devathaiyai Kanden (2005), Pudhupettai (2006), Polladhavan (2007), Yaaradi Nee Mohini (2008), Padikathavan (2009), Kutty (2010), and Uthama Puthiran (2010).

In 2011, Dhanush’s dream project, Aadukalam, was released to critical success. The film went on to win six awards at the 58th National Film Awards, including National Film Award for Best Actor for Dhanush, the youngest ever winner. He would follow that film up with the films Mappilai (2011) and Venghai (2011). the following year he would star in his wife, Aishwarya Ranjinikanth’s directorial debut, titled simply: 3 (2012). The film was viewed as a modest success thanks to the popularity of the song "Why this Kolaveri Di."

Not long after, he made his Bollywood debut in Raanjhanaa (2013). The film went on to be a solid success. The next few years would see Dhanush star in the comedy-drama Velaiyilla Pattathari (2014), which was his 25th feature film, as well as his second Hindi feature film Shamitabh (2015), which was positively received by critics, but a commercial flop. He would follow that up with the hit psychological thriller Anegan (2015), and th epolitical thriller Thodari (2016).

In 2017 Dhanush would make his directorial debut with the comedy drama Power Paandi, in which he also makes a cameo. He would also star in the action comedy sequel Velaiila Pattadhari 2 (2017), which was directed by his sister-in-law Soundarya Rajinikanth, and the action crime thriller Vada Chennai (2018).

Dhanush would step out into the international scene with the lead role in The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir (2019) from Canadian director Ken Scott.

Outside of his film career Dhanush has dabbled in music, having recorded songs for his own films. He has worked as a playback singer in Pudhokottaiyilirundhu Saravanan for composer Yuvan Shankar Raja, whom he collaborated with again in his brother Selvaraghavan’s directorial debut Pudhupettai. He has also been featured on tracks for films such as Aayirathil Oruvan and Mayakkam Enna, the former of which found him singing alongside his wife. His 2011 track "Why this Kolvaeri Di," which was featured on the soundtrack of his wife’s directorial debut, became the most searched video in 2011 in India on YouTube.

Dhanush has been married to his wife since November 18, 2004 and together they have two sons, Yatra and Linga, who were born in 2006 and 2010 respectively.