One of the most enigmatic, versatile, and ambitious performers to ever work in Tamil cinema, Dhanush, was born today in 1983. The highly acclaimed actor, was once the scrawny young boy who first featured in his brother Selvaraghavan’s Thulluvadho Ilamai was brutally ridiculed and torn down by critics and audiences alike. The beginning stages of the young man’s career were filled with mountains of criticism against his performances and his skinny physique. But no one could have even imagined in their wildest dreams that that lanky young boy would grow to be an internationally renowned artist. The multi-award-winning actor has performed in critically acclaimed films from Kollywood to Bollywood to Hollywood. To celebrate his birthday, here are some of his most iconic and unforgettable works in Tamil cinema.
Pudhupettai 2006
Pudhupettai was not an acclaimed success when it first came out in 2006. The commercial Tamil audience, which has been propagated for the longest time with masala gangster films, did not know how to accept this art form. But over time, this film gained cult status, with younger cinephiles claiming it to be a masterpiece. All of this acclaim is not least due to the heartbreaking and painfully brilliant performance of Dhanush, who plays the incredibly unforgettable Kokki Kumar.
Vada Chennai 2018
Fans all over the world are eagerly awaiting the second installment of Dhanush and Vetrimaaran’s astoundingly rooted and realistic film Vada Chennai, which is helmed as a critical depiction of actual North Madras. One of the greatest things about this film is how it has a large ensemble cast of many acclaimed actors, yet Dhanush manages to share screen presence with all of them, without overpowering or underwhelming the scene.
Asuran 2019
Asuran, another critically acclaimed film directed by Vetrimaaran, graced Dhanush with the National Film Award for Best Actor. This was a really significant film, for it explored in depth the violence of caste and the brutality of the struggle against it. The versatile depth of Dhanush’s phenomenal artistry can be piercingly witnessed here, as he plays the life of Sivasaami (Dhanush) from his fleeting youth to his burden-filled adulthood with phenomenal conviction.
Karnan 2021
Karnan is one of the greatest directorial works by Mari Selvaraj and one of the most significant films in Tamil Cinema History. Dhanush had performed the character of Karnan, a Dalit youth possessed by the revolutionary spirit to liberate his people, with intense sensitivity and intellectual and cultural sensibility. The film is inspired by the real-life 1995 Kodiyanjulam caste violence. Mari had expressed that he had chosen Dhanush as his lead because Dhanush bore the face of his people.
In the end, the body and skin for which he was shamed for, became significant instruments of his artistry. His physical appearance is one that bears the resemblance of the people of the land; his characters, his dialects, and his presence all emulate the lives and cultures of Tamil people. It is precisely because of that axiomatic cultural representation that he has grown to this phenomenal height as a person and as a professional.
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