Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja (born 28 July 1983), known professionally as Dhanush, is an Indian actor, producer, director, lyricist and playback singer who primarily works in Tamil cinema. Having starred in 46 films over his career, his accolades include four National Film Awards (two as actor and two as producer), fourteen SIIMA Awards, seven Filmfare Awards South and a Filmfare Award. One of the highest paid actors in Indian cinema, he has been included in the Forbes India Celebrity 100 list six times.
Dhanush's first 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), Kodi (2016), Vadachennai (2018), Asuran (2019), Thiruchitrambalam (2022) and Vaathi (2023). Vadachennai emerged as the highest-grossing A-rated Tamil film of all time, while Thiruchitrambalam and Vaathi entered the 100 Crore Club within a month of their release. During the 2010s, he also starred in the action films Maari (2015), Maari 2 (2018), and Velaiilla Pattadhari 2 (2017).
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 Bollywood 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 he made his directorial debut with Pa Paandi (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 1.5 billion views on YouTube. Dhanush won his second National Film Award for Best Actor for Asuran (2019).
Early life
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 go to a school of hotel management and become a chef. However his brother, director Selvaraghavan, pressured him to become an actor. Dhanush also has two sisters named Vimalageetha and Karthiga Karthik.
Acting career
2002–2010: Career beginnings
Venkatesh Prabhu adopted the screen 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, who according to him, has the features of a French male model.