Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja (born 28 July 1983),[2] known professionally as

Dhanush, is an Indian actor, producer, director, lyricist and playback singer who
primarily works in Tamil cinema.[3] 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.[4] One of
the highest paid actors in Indian cinema, he has been included in the Forbes India
Celebrity 100 list six times.[5]

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.[6] 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.
[7] 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.[8] 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 bilingual 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.[9] 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.[10] Dhanush produces films through his production
company, Wunderbar Films,[11] and he made his directorial debut with Pa Paandi
(2017).[12][13] His song "Rowdy Baby" from Maari 2 became one of the most-viewed
Indian songs of all time.[14] It is the first South Indian video song to reach 1.5
billion views on YouTube.[15] Dhanush won his second National Film Award for Best
Actor for Asuran (2019).[16]

Early life
Dhanush was born as Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja[17] on 28 July 1983 to Tamil
film director and producer, Kasthuri Raja, and his wife, Vijayalakshmi, in Madras,
Tamil Nadu.[18] He is of Telugu descent.[19] Initially he wished to go to a school
of hotel management and become a chef.[20] However his brother, director
Selvaraghavan, pressured him to become an actor.[21][22] Dhanush also has two
sisters named Vimalageetha and Karthiga Karthik.[23]

Acting career
2002–2010: Career beginnings
Venkatesh Prabhu adopted the screen name "Dhanush" after being inspired by the
fictional covert operation from Kuruthipunal (1995).[24] 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.[25] 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.[26]

In 2004, Dhanush appeared in Pudhukottaiyilirundhu Saravanan and Sulaan.[27][28]

Later, he also appeared in Dreams, another film panned by critics.[29] 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.[30] 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.[31]
It portrayed a young man's journey from a street urchin to gangster, receiving
mixed reviews, initially, though Dhanush's performance received major praise.
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.[32] Dhanush subsequently received his second nomination for
the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil, for his performance in the film. That
same year, he also reunited with Boopathy Pandian after Devathaiyai Kanden, for the
romantic comedy, Thiruvilaiyaadal Aarambam, opposite Shriya Saran and Prakash Raj.
[33][34] 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.[35] 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.[36]

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.[37] 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.[38] His performance was praised
and well received.[39] His next two films Kutty and Uthama Puthiran, were both
collaborations with director Mithran Jawahar.[40]

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.