Dhanush filmography


Dhanush is an Indian actor, film producer, screenwriter and film director known for his work in Tamil cinema. He has also appeared in some Hindi, Telugu, English, and Malayalam films. He made his acting debut in 2002 with the coming of age drama, Thulluvadho Ilamai, directed by his father Kasthuri Raja. His role as a mentally-disturbed man in Kaadhal Kondein directed by his brother Selvaraghavanwon him critical acclaim. The following year, he starred in Subramaniam Siva's Thiruda Thirudi, a commercial success. This was followed by a series of commercial failuresPudhukottaiyilirundhu Saravanan, Sullan and Dreams. He had two releases in 2005Devathaiyai Kanden and Adhu Oru Kana Kaalam.
In 2006, Dhanush starred in the gangster film Pudhupettai, which was critically acclaimed and moderately successful at the box-office. He next collaborated with debutant director Vetrimaaran in Polladhavan. It was critically acclaimed and commercially successful. His subsequent releasesYaaradi Nee Mohini and Padikkadavanwere box-office successes. He collaborated with Vetrimaaran for the second time in Aadukalam. His role as a rooster fight jockey in the film won him that year's National Film Award for Best Actor and the Best Tamil Actor Award at the 60th Filmfare Awards South. In 2012, he received international attention with the song "Why This Kolaveri Di", which was recorded for Aishwarya R. Dhanush's directorial debut [3 (2012 Tamil language|Tamil film)|3]. His role as a man who is suffering from bipolar disorder in the film won him his second Filmfare Award.
Dhanush made his Bollywood debut with Aanand L. Rai's Raanjhanaa. His performance as an obsessive one-sided lover in the film won him the Best Male Debut Award and earned a Best Actor nomination at the 59th Filmfare Awards. The same year he was seen in the survival film Maryan, which won him Best Actor Award (Critics) at the 61st Filmfare Awards South. In 2014, he produced and starred in cinematographer R. Velraj's directorial debut, Velaiilla Pattadhari, which was critically acclaimed as well as a box-office success. His performance as an unemployed graduate won a third Filmfare Award in the Best Tamil Actor category.
In 2015, Dhanush co-starred with Amitabh Bachchan in R. Balki's Shamitabh, where he played a mute superstar. The following year Dhanush played three roles in K. V. Anand's romantic thriller Anegan and a gangster in Balaji Mohan's Maari, both becoming moderately success at the box office. He collaborated with Velraj's Thanga Magan, which did not perform well at the box office when compared to his previous film. Dhanush had two releases in 2016Prabhu Solomon's Thodari, a critical and commercial failure; and the political drama Kodi, where he played dual roles. The latter earned him a Best Tamil Actor nomination at the 64th Filmfare Awards South. The following year, he made his directorial debut with Pa. Pandi. In 2018, Dhanush made his first international film appearance with the English-language French film The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir. For his performance in Asuran, he won his second National Film Award for Best Actor.

As actor

All films are in Tamil, unless mentioned otherwise.
YearTitleRoleNotes
2002Thulluvadho IlamaiMahesh
2003Kaadhal KondeinVinod
2003Thiruda ThirudiVasudevan
2004Pudhukottaiyilirundhu SaravananSaravanan
2004SullanSubramani
2004DreamsSakthi
2005Devathaiyai KandenBabu
2005Adhu Oru Kana KaalamSrinivasan
2006PudhupettaiKokki Kumar
2006Thiruvilaiyaadal AarambamThiru Kumaran
2007Parattai Engira Azhagu SundaramAzhagu Sundaram alias Parattai
2007PolladhavanPrabhu Shankar
2008Yaaradi Nee MohiniVasudevan
2008KuselanHimselfGuest appearance in the song "Cinema Cinema"
2009PadikkadavanRadhakrishnan "Rocky"
2010KuttyKutty
2010UthamaputhiranSiva Ramakrishnan
2011AadukalamK. P. Karuppu
2011SeedanSaravananCameo
2011MappillaiSaravanan
2011VenghaiSelvam
2011Mayakkam EnnaKarthik Swaminathan
20123Ramachandran "Ram"
2013Proprietors: Kammath & KammathHimselfMalayalam film; guest appearance
2013Ethir NeechalSoup boyGuest appearance
2013RaanjhanaaKundan ShankarHindi film
2013MaryanMaryan
2013NaiyaandiChinna Vandu
2014Velaiilla PattadhariRaghuvaran "Raghu"25th film
2015ShamitabhDanish alias "Shamitabh"Hindi film
2015AneganAshwin, Murugappa, Kaali and Illamaran
2015Vai Raja VaiKokki KumarCameo
2015MaariMaari
2015Thanga MaganThamizh
2016ThodariPoochiyappan
2016KodiKodi, Anbu
2017Pa. PandiAlso director and screenwriter
2017Velaiilla Pattadhari 2Raghuvaran "Raghu"Also screenwriter
2018The Extraordinary Journey of the FakirAjatashatru Lavash PatelEnglish film
2018Vada ChennaiAnbu
2018Maari 2Maariyappan "Maari"
2019AsuranSivasaamy
2019Enai Noki Paayum ThotaRaghu
2020PattasSakthi alias "Pattas", Dhiraviyaperumal
2021KarnanKarnan
2021Jagame ThandhiramSuruli
2021Atrangi ReS. Venkatesh Vishwanath "Vishu" IyerHindi film
2022MaaranMathimaaran "Maaran" Sathyamoorthy
2022The Gray ManAvik San alias "Lone Wolf"English film
2022ThiruchitrambalamThiruchitrambalam Jr. alias "Pazham"
2022Naane VaruveanKathir, PrabhuAlso screenwriter
2023Vaathi/SirBalamurugan "Bala" / Bal Gangadhar Tilak "Balu"Tamil-Telugu bilingual film
2024Captain MillerAnaleesan "Easa" / Captain Miller
2024RaayanKathavaraayan "Raayan"50th film; Also writer and director
2025KuberaaDevaTelugu-Tamil bilingual film
2025Idli KadaiMurugan SivanesanAlso writer, director and producer
2025Tere Ishk MeinShankar GurukkalHindi film
2026scope="row" Karasaami "Kara"Filming
TBATBAAnnounced

As producer

All films are in Tamil, unless mentioned otherwise.
YearTitleNotes
20123
2013Ethir Neechal
2014Velaiilla Pattadhari
2015Kaaki Sattai
2015Kaaka Muttai
2015Maari
2015Naanum Rowdy Dhaan
2015Thanga Magan
2016Visaranai
2016Amma Kanakku
2017Cinema Veeran
2017Pa. Pandi
2017Velaiilla Pattadhari 2
2017TharangamMalayalam film
2018Kaala
2018Vada Chennai
2018Maari 2
2025Nilavaku En Mel Ennadi Kobam
2025Idli Kadai