Dhanush Height, Age, Girlfriend, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Dhanush

• Does Dhanush smoke?: No ^[17]SS Family First

• Does Dhanush drink alcohol?: No ^[18]SS Family First

• Dhanush is an Indian actor, producer, director, writer, lyricist, screenwriter, and playback singer.

• He was born in a middle-class Hindu family. ^[19]SS Family First

• In an interview, he shared that in childhood he wanted to have a red remote-controlled toy car which one of his friends used to have. He further said,

I wanted it so badly that I’d go ask him (neighbour) and he’d refuse to part with it. My brother used to take a used thread spool and try to shape it into something that looked like a car. The days I’ve yearned for that red car I’d never forget.”

• While he was in school, he wanted to become a chef or marine engineer.

• He failed in 12th class final exams, and later, he completed his graduation through distance learning. ^[20]SS Family First

• In an interview, he shared that he was brought up in a poor family. He said,

For a large part of my father’s youth, he worked in a mill and took up odd jobs to make ends meet. We lived in a small room and could only afford a meal a day. Dad would walk 11km every day to save a rupee of bus fare so we could go to school. I’ve seen poverty up close until I was four or five. But dad was a writer from a young age. Even while working in the mill, he would write stories and scripts and sell them to people for Rs 50 or so. They would then sell the stories to directors and producers as their own. Through one such contact, he got a break in the Tamil film industry as an assistant director. He must have been in his late 30s then. He worked hard for 15 years before making his directorial debut.”

Dhanush further added,

Of course! I was all of 16, I cried, threw tantrums, fasted. Nothing worked. I am glad it didn’t as I realise today I cannot do anything else. I suffer from stage fright so I blabber on stage and stop midway through my performances. I cannot even write a cheque as it makes me nervous. Being around people makes me nervous. But I’m very comfortable in front of the camera, and this I realised many films later.”

• He met Aishwarya for the first time at the screening of the Tamil film ‘Kadhal Kondaen’ (2003). Later, they started dating and got married in a traditional wedding ceremony. Whereas as per some other sources, their parents were friends and decided to fix the marriage of their children. ^[21]Bollywood Shaadis ^[22]Pinkvilla

• In an interview, he shared that when he started his career as an actor, his English-speaking skills were poor. He said,

My English was pretty bad in 2005. To fix that, I got into the habit of reading English books. It would take me more than six months initially to read a book; I’d fall asleep before finishing a single chapter.”

• He debuted as an actor in his father’s directorial film ‘Thulluvadho Ilamai’ in 2002.

• In 2003, he acted in the Tamil film ‘Kadhal Kondein’ directed by his brother Selvaraghavan.

• In 2004, his films failed to do well at the box office, and his films like ‘Pudhukottaiyilirundhu Saravanan,’ ‘Sullan,’ and ‘Dreams’ were a flop.

• Later, his films ‘Devathaiyai Kanden’ (2005), ‘Adhu Oru Kana Kaalam’ (2005), ‘Yaaradi Nee Mohini’ (2008), and ‘Padikkadavan’ (2009) became hit, giving a boost to his acting career.

• He won his first National Award for the Tamil film ‘Aadukalam’ (2011) in which he played the role of a rooster fight jockey.

• In 2012, he released a song “Why This Kolaveri Di” on YouTube which went viral across the world. Later, the song was released in the Tamil film ‘3’ starring Dhanush and Shruti Haasan.

• Dhanush and his wife started a film production company ‘Wunderbar Films’ on 20 May 2010, and their first film as a producer was the Tamil film ‘3’ released in 2012. Some of his other films as a producer are ‘Ethir Neechal’ (2013), ‘Kaaki Sattai’ (2015), ‘Maari’ (2015), ‘Kaala’ (2018), and ‘Maari 2’ (2018).

• He is a renowned singer and has lent his voice for various songs like “Un mele” from the film ‘Aayirathil Oruvan’ (2010), “Danga maari” from ‘Anegan’ (2015), “Maalai Varum Vannilla” from ‘Nenjam Marappathillai’ (2016), “Polladha Bhoomi” from ‘Asuran’ (2019), and “Kaathodu Kaathanen” from ‘Jail’ (2020).

• He is a lyricist too and has penned down the lyrics of various songs like “Why This Kolaveri Di” from ‘3’ (2012), “Po Indru Neeyaga” from ‘Velaiilla Pattadhari’ (2014), “Venpanimalare” from ‘Pa Paandi’ (2017), and “Ilamai Thirumbuthe” from ‘Petta’ (2019).

• After making his successful debut in the Bollywood film ‘Raanjhanaa’ in 2013, he acted in the Hindi film ‘Shamitabh’ (2015) along with the legendary Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan.
  

• In 2021, he completed shooting for the Tamil film ‘Jagame Thandhiram’ and the Hindi film ‘Atrangi Re.’ In the same year, he was filming for the English film ‘The Gray Man.’

• He is an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva and has named his sons Yatra (Pilgrimage) and Linga (Shiva Lingam).

• He was titled ‘India’s ‘Hottest Vegetarian Celebrity’ in 2011 by the American animal rights organization ‘PETA,’ but Dhanush did not like it and considered it to be an insult. ^[23]The Hindustan Times

• He assisted an international non-governmental organization WWF for their initiative ‘Earth Hour’ in 2012.

• Dhanush has been featured on the cover page of various renowned magazines.
  

  Dhanush featured on Filmfare magazine

• Based on his yearly earnings, he has been listed in the Forbes India Celebrity 100 list for six times. ^[24]Forbes India

• Dhanush has featured in various TV commercials like 7UP, Tata Nano, and Center Fresh.

• On one of his birthdays, he visited Kotiswari to meet his 12-year-old fan who was in the last stage of blood cancer.
  

  Dhanush celebrated his birthday with his fan