With the Russo Brothers ‘The Gray Man‘ releasing on Netflix on July 22, everyone seems to be talking about only one man in the film – Dhanush. His co-stars in the film, from Rene Jean-Page and Ryan Gosling to Ana De Armas and the Russo Brothers themselves, are all heaping praise on the Tamil star who seems to have taken Hollywood by storm. In a Twitter space chat recently, the Russo Brothers had said about the ‘Kolaveri Di’ singer and actor, “We are big fans of him. We wrote the character keeping him in mind. You can expect a new film starring his character in the lead soon. He plays one of the top assassins of the world in The Gray Man and has two major fight blocks in the film. Dhanush has a great camera presence and we loved seeing him perform.” Meanwhile, Dhanush himself is being his humble, unassuming self and has stated that it was amazing to feel like a newcomer once again in Hollywood despite having worked 22 years in the Indian film industry and 50 films under his belt.

The Tamil star made his debut in 2002 with a small film called ‘Thulluvadho Ilamai’ directed by his father and with the 2011 ‘Aadukalam’ directed by Vetrimaaran for which he won a National Award, the Tamil star had cemented his place in Tamil cinema as one of the most talented actors of his time. Since then, Dhanush has experimented with cinema – in Tamil and in Hindi – and pushed boundaries with his eagerness to learn and hunger for success. In the last 20 years, Venkatesh Prabhu or Dhanush (his screen name) has become a successful actor, producer, director, lyricist and singer.

Unlike many of his contemporaries, Dhanush has never shied away from roles that seemingly don’t cater to his mass fan base. His choice of scripts and roles varied from one film to the next – if he did commercial films like ‘Maari’ and ‘Vellaillai Patadhari’, then he also starred in gritty village-based films like ‘Asuran’ and ‘Karnan’, where he portrayed the role of a father. Meanwhile, Mumbai director Aanand L Rai roped him in for his Hindi debut ‘Raanjhanaa’ in 2013 and he worked in ‘Shamitabh’ and ‘Atrangi Re’ following that but his heart was always in Tamil cinema. Having become a truly pan-Indian actor and with numerous awards under his belt, the next step for Dhanush was evidently Hollywood and it did come calling. He bagged ‘The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir’ with Uma Thurman and though the film didn’t do too well at the box office in 2019, Hollywood had noticed this talented actor. But with ‘The Gray Man’, the ‘Pa Pandi’ director has achieved what no one else has from the Tamil film industry so far.

To get to where he is today, Dhanush has worked hard and that is quite evident when you see his repertoire of work from his first film till now. A school dropout, Dhanush’s learning ground has been the film industry and his voracious reading habit has helped him also develop personally. People who know him say he doesn’t rest on his laurels and is always trying to do something better each time – a better song, a better film, a better performance, etc. In an interview he had stated, “You cannot afford to snooze, not even a bit. You have to be updated, on your toes, always thinking what to do, what people want. That’s the million-dollar question: what people want from your films and you. It’s very difficult to understand how people want different things at different times and you have to work really hard on yourself, your films. You cannot afford to be lazy. There are always so many better talents out there to replace you.”

Dhanush’s co-stars on ‘The Gray Man’ have called him professional, polite, focused, graceful, badass, funny, charming – the adjectives just don’t seem to end. But his journey has not been an easy one over the last two decades given that he was judged by his appearance when he entered films at 16. From being a scrawny below average looking boy, Dhanush matured into a serious actor who proved that talent and hard work reign over looks. He groomed himself to be a star and honed his talent over time picking up award after award. When he married into Superstar Rajinikanth’s family, the tendency to compare him to Rajinikanth and the stardom the Superstar had achieved was natural. But this didn’t deter Dhanush from pursuing the kind of films he wanted to and he has created an identity for himself today.

For now, people are excitedly waiting for ‘The Gray Man’ and Dhanush’s performance in the film. D, as he is known by friends, may not have a big part in this Netflix release but the good news is that the Russo Brothers may do a spin-off with his character if this film clicks. Joe Russo said in a Twitter interaction, “Dhanush plays one of the top assassins of the world. He’s a sort of classic badass character, who shows up to combat the hero and complicate the film. If the audience likes this film, we expand the storytelling from here. This character is a fascinating character to move forward in that world.” And this is what Dhanush fans around the world are looking forward to because this talented Tamil star has truly earned it.

Latha Srinivasan is a senior journalist based in Chennai. Her passion is entertainment, travel, and dogs.

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