Dhanush

Dhanush  
   
Born Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja[1]
28 July 1983 (age 31)[2]
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India  
Residence Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India  
Nationality Indian  
Years active 2002–present  
Religion Hindu  
Spouse(s) Aishwarya R. Dhanush
(2004–present)  
Children Yatra
Lingan  
Parent(s) Kasthuri Raja (father)
Vijayalakshmi (mother)  
Relatives Selvaraghavan (Brother)
Soundarya R. Ashwin (sister-in-law)
Rajinikanth (father-in-law)  
Awards National Film Award for Best Actor (2011)
National Film Award for Best Children's Film(Wunderbar Films) (2015)[3]
Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja (born 28 July 1983), known by his stage name Dhanush, is a two time National Award winning Indian film actor, producer, lyricist and playback singer who has worked predominantly in Tamil cinema. In 2011, he won theNational Film Award for Best Actor for the Tamil film Aadukalam and in the same year, he received international attention for his song "Why This Kolaveri Di", which went on to became the most viewed Indian song on YouTube.[4] As of 2014, he has won two Filmfare Awards South. He received his second National Award for producing the best children's film (Kaaka Muttai) in 2015.
His first film was Thulluvadho Ilamai, a 2002 coming-of-age movie directed by his father, Kasthuri Raja.[5] Over the next ten years, Dhanush featured in 25 movies and made his Hindi debut in Raanjhanaa in the year 2013 & his second film in Hindi is Shamitabh.
He produces films under his production company, Wunderbar Films.
Contents
  [hide]
1 Personal life
2 Acting career
2.1 2001–05
2.2 2006–10
2.3 2011–present
3 Music
4 Other work
5 References
6 External links
Personal life[edit]
Born to Tamil film director and producer Kasthuri Raja, Dhanush entered acting after being pressured by his brother, directorSelvaraghavan.[6] Dhanush married Aishwarya, Rajinikanth's daughter, on 18 November 2004. They have two sons, Yatra born in 2006 and Linga born in 2010.[7][8]
Acting career[edit]
See also: Dhanush filmography
2001–05[edit]
Dhanushan debuted in the film Thulluvadho Ilamai, directed by Kasthuri Raja, which received mostly positive reviews from critics and the public. He then appeared 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, eventually turning possessive over her. Upon release, the film won critical acclaim and also became a major commercial success.[9] His next film, released later in 2003, was Thiruda Thirudi.[10]
Dhanush appeared in Pudhukottaiyilirundhu Saravanan and Ramana's Sullan.[11] Later, he also appeared in Dreams, another film panned by critics.[12] The film was directed by his father, like their previous venture. In 2005, Dhanush appeared in Devathaiyai Kanden. Later it was dubbed into Telugu,[13] and in very same year he also worked on Balu Mahendra's Adhu Oru Kana Kaalam.
2006–10[edit]
Pudhupettai re-united Dhanush with his brother.[14] Dhanush's portrayal was praised by critics[vague].[15] The Telugu dubbed version was titled Dhoolpet.[13] Dhanush went on to star in the commercial entertainer Thiruvilayadal Arambam.[16][17]
Dhanush's first release of 2007, Parattai Engira Azhagu Sundaram did not go well.[18] The film, which was a remake of the successful Kannada language film, Jogi'. However, his second film Polladhavan was released during Diwali 2007 . Polladhavan was based on 1948–Italian neorealist film The Bicycle Thieves and Dhanush's performance was appreciated.[19]
The remake of a Telugu film directed by his brother formed the plot line for Dhanush's next movie directed by debutant Mithran Jawahar. The movie titled Yaaradi Nee Mohini.[20] 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.[21] His performance was praised and well received.[22] His next two films Kutty and Uthama Puthiran, were both collaborations with director Mithran Jawahar.[23]

Dhanush seen with Amitabh Bachchan at the BIG Star Entertainment Awards (2012)
2011–present[edit]
Dhanush's first release in 2011, which he had shot for over three years, was Aadukalam, marking his second collaboration withVetrimaran. Dhanush played the role of a local cockfighter and described the venture as his "Dream Project" during production.[24] The film gained highly positive reviews and won six awards at the 58th National Film Awards, with Dhanush receiving the National Film Award for Best Actor,[25] becoming the youngest actor to win the award.[26] Dhanush appeared in an extended guest appearance in Subramania Siva's Seedan. His next two ventures were action-masala films: Mappillai, a remake of his father-in-law's same-titled 1989 comedy flickand Venghai, by Hari, which received mixed reviews but was average box office hit.[23]
His next film, Mayakkam Enna, in which he again collaborated with his brother, casting him with Richa Gangopadhyay, received largely positive reviews. His only 2012 release was 3 directed by his wife, Aishwarya Rajinikanth with Shruti Haasan. The movie was a moderate success, owing to the popularity of the song Why this Kolaveri Di.[27][28] In 2013 he appeared in Maryan opposite Parvathi Menon, which was applauded by critics and declared as an above-average grosser at the box office.[29] His next release was Naiyaandi, directed by A. Sarkunam, which did not make any notable impact in the box office.[30]
His next film released in the year 2014 Velaiyilla Pattathari was also his 25 film directed by Velraj which opened to mostly positive reviews and declared as Blockbuster.[31] His next release was Shamitabh, released in year 2015 which was also his second Hindi film directed by R. Balki opened to very high positive reviews and was praised for the concept but failed at box-office.[32] His next film Anegan was a romantic action thriller directed by KV Anand which generated positive reviews and was declared a box office success.[33] His upcoming film are Maari, directed by Balaji Mohan and Untitled project by Prabhu solomon. .
Music[edit]
Dhanush occasionally records music, generally for 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. "I'm not a playback singer, so my voice isn't perfect," Dhanush has said, in response to the popularity of his song Why this Kolaveri Di.[34]
"Why this Kolaveri Di" was released on YouTube in 2011 as part of the soundtrack to the film 3, the directorial debut of Aishwarya Dhanush.[35] The song became the most searched video in India and an internet phenomenon across Asia.[36][37][38] The title, 'Why this kolaveri di?' is a Tamil phrase that roughly translates to Why this murderous rage towards me, girl?. Anirudh Ravichander was the soundtrack composer for the film and Dhanush wrote much of the lyrics.[39][40][41]
Other work[edit]
Dhanush was the brand ambassador of PETA and named India's hottest vegetarian celebrity of 2011.[42] He worked with WWF India to support Earth Hour 2012.[43] In August 2013, Dhanush was signed by Perfetti India Ltd. as their brand ambassador for Center Fresh[44] chewing gum.