Dhanush

Dhanush is an Indian actor, filmmaker, producer, lyricist, and playback singer best known for his work in Tamil cinema, with additional credits in Hindi, Telugu, and international productions. Born Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja on July 28, 1983, in Tamil Nadu, he is the son of director Kasthuri Raja and the brother of filmmaker Selvaraghavan. He entered films as a teenager with Thulluvadho Ilamai in 2002, directed by his father, and soon found a stronger identity through Selvaraghavan's Kaadhal Kondein and Pudhupettai. Those early films helped position him as an unconventional leading man: slight, intense, and capable of playing vulnerability, obsession, anger, and comedy without relying on the usual star template.

His breakthrough into major critical recognition came with Aadukalam, in which he played a rooster-fight jockey. The performance won him the National Film Award for Best Actor and confirmed his reputation as one of the most distinctive performers of his generation. He followed with a career that balanced mainstream entertainers and more ambitious dramas, including Polladhavan, Yaaradi Nee Mohini, Maryan, Velaiilla Pattadhari, Anegan, Maari, Kodi, Vada Chennai, Asuran, Karnan, Thiruchitrambalam, Captain Miller, and Raayan. Asuran brought him another National Film Award for Best Actor, while Vada Chennai and Karnan reinforced his appeal in politically textured and socially rooted stories.

Dhanush also became a major figure outside acting. As a singer and lyricist, he reached global online attention with “Why This Kolaveri Di” from the film 3, a viral song that became one of the first Indian music videos to cross 100 million YouTube views. As a producer through Wunderbar Films, he backed projects including Kaaka Muttai and Visaranai, films that gained critical and festival attention. He made his directorial debut with Pa Paandi in 2017 and later directed and starred in Raayan.