Singer to bookworm: Dhanush beyond his acting skills

CHENNAI: Dhanush, is one of the artists who has been constantly improving himself across all fronts, from his debut 'Thulluvadho Ilamai' to the recently released 'The Gray Man', the actor has been breaking stereotypes and outperforming his previous roles.

Even though Hollywood didn't give him much screen-space, Kollywood and Bollywood used the actor's terrific talent in full swing. His first film was a sleeper hit and its no wonder that the screenplay for the film was written by his brother Selvaraghavan, who struck a cord in many films -- Pudhupettai, Kaadhal Kondein and Mayakkam Enna.

Dhanush did gave his third hit with Thiruda Thirudi, but after facing a string of failures. Then, Pudupettai came and put him on the top league of actors in India. We saw him as a realistic gangster in the drama which paved the way for darker storytelling.

Amid several misfires, the actor kept alternating between masala flicks and movies with a nuanced storytelling. Not heeding to criticisms on his looks, he continued to excel as an actor by giving his best performance to films like Polladhavan, Aadukalam, Mayakkam Enna, Asuran, Maryan, 3, Karnan.

He was also the most relatable star who played characters that were closer to reality like a civil engineer struggling to land in a job in 'Velailla Pattadhari' or playing Vasudevan, a middle-class guy who goes to another village to win his love in 'Yaaradi Nee Mohini'. Many such films like Uthamaputhiran, Kutty, Thanga Magan, Padikkathavan have upped relatability quotient to the audience.

Even at his failed ventures, the actor has been the saving grace for films like Thodari, Kodi, Jagame Thandhiram, Pattas and Maaran.

As the actor turns 39 today, we look at Dhanush's calibre beyond his versatile acting skills:

1. A caring dad of sons and pets too!

The actor is so close to his sons -- Linga and Yatra -- that he attended the 'The Gray Man' world premiere in Los Angeles with them. The trio walked the red carpet together wearing stylish suits. The actor has often posted photos of him with his sons, and the things he does with them. The actor also has four canines — King, Kong, Genghis, Caesar.

2. The ‘Kolaveri’ singer

Before the term 'viral' actually came into vogue among Twitterati, Dhanush's song from 3 'Why this Kolaveri Di' was an sensational number. The song beautifully fused English with Tamil that it became an instant hit among 'soup boys'. The star again proved with his 'Rowdy Baby' song from Maari sequel that has crossed a billion viewers. Him working with sensational musician Anirudh has always worked in-favour for him and for his fans known to be DNA combo, be it even the recently released 'Thaai Kelavi' or 'Megam Karukatha'.

3. The bookworm

The actor is also a bookworm and often posts whatever he reads on his social media. Glimpse of him reading during shoot or off-set can be seen through his posts. From Conn Iggulden's The Falcon of Sparta to Ravi Rai's The Tattoo on My Breasts, he likes books on historical fiction.

4. Mantras for a successful life

Dhanush is a highly spiritual person, just like Rajinikanth. He has often spoken in interviews in this regard as well and one of his few manthra's are 'Follow his calling' and 'Nothing is permanent' which he belives truly.

5. Personal connection to directors

The actor shares a healthy rapport with directors like Vetrimaaran, Mari Selvaraj and Prabhudeva. He shares BTS pictures with them in socials like a candid photo of a sharing a laugh with ace choreographer-director Prabhudeva or in a serious discussion with Mari Selvaraj or a cool selfie with Anand L Rai.

Being trolled for his looks at the early stages of his career, Dhanush has a priceless message for people having inferiority complex over their looks "Enna Maadhri Pasangala Paatha Pudikkadhu, Paaka Paaka Dhaan Pudikkum" (Padikkadhavan - 2009). This line is so true about Dhanush's career graph.