Towards the end of 2011, a Tamil song with nonsensical lyrics became the biggest viral hit India had ever seen. The track was Kolveri Di from the Tamil film 3 and it catapulted Dhanush, already a superstar and National Award-winning actor from Chennai, to international fame. Surprisingly, it wasn’t this song that caught Raanjhanaa director Aanand L Rai’s eye. “Actually, Aanand sir saw one of my other films, Aadukalam, and offered me Kundan’s part in Raanjhanaa. But yes, there is no denying what Kolaveri Di did for me,” says the soft-spoken Dhanush.
The actor says it was the simplicity of the story that made him sign his first Hindi film. “The characters are raw and the story is simple. It could be anybody’s story. I really related to Kundan and his life. I didn’t have to think twice before signing the film. I would have done this film regardless of the language,” says the 29-year-old. But the fact that the film was based in Benaras and Dhanush was expected to get the accent down pat was a challenge for him. “I wasn’t in my comfort zone while shooting the film. I am very grateful for all the help I got from the film’s writer Himanshu (Sharma). He would take me through my lines a day before, explain the meaning and correct my pronunciation. But if someone asks me to speak in Hindi off-screen, I still won’t be able to manage. My Hindi is just as bad as it used to be earlier. Hopefully, that won’t come across in the film,” he says with a laugh.
For Dhanush, the high point of making Raanjhanaa was shooting the film in Benaras. “I am a Shiv bhakt and Benaras is the land of Shiva. You can feel his energy in every corner of the city. You really have to visit Benaras to understand what I am talking about. I am going to make it a point to visit the city more often now.”
Though Raanjhanaa is technically Dhanush’s Bollywood debut, the actor is not nervous. “There is no reason to be nervous. I am really happy that I got to make a film like Raanjhanaa which is straight from the heart and that I got to work with wonderful people like Aanand sir and Sonam (Kapoor).”
There has been a spurt of south Indian actors trying their hand at Bollywood of late. Actors like Surya or Vikram have always maintained that they are not looking at migrating to Bollywood, while at the other end of the spectrum is Prithviraj who makes no bones about wanting to concentrate on Hindi films. While Dhanush has already signed his second Hindi film (it’s yet untitled and will be directed by Aanand), he says, “I don’t look at films as per the region they cater to or the language they are made in. A film is a film. I act in films that I connect to and that I know an audience will as well. The language is irrespective.”
Dhanush was in Class XI when his father Kasthuri Raja cast him in Thulluvadho Ilamai. “The lead actor dropped out last minute and I fit the part. It was my brother Selvaraghavan’s directorial debut Kadhal Konden that turned me into an overnight star. Offers started coming in but it took me a while to love acting. I used to be a reluctant actor but now I love everything to do with movies. Hopefully, I will get to direct someday soon.” It was at the movies that Dhanush also found love. The actor met legendary Rajnikanth’s daughter Aishwarya at the first day show of Kadhal Konden. “The theatre’s owner introduced me to Aishwarya and Soundarya. I was there with my whole family. Aishwarya and I just exchanged a quick ‘Hi’. The next day, she sent a bouquet to congratulate me on the film and two years later we were married.” The couple has two sons—six-year-old Yatra and Linga who is three. “I have been away from home and from them because of Raanjhanaa. I can’t wait to go back and spend time with them. I miss them.”