‘I don’t want this cinema, brother is making mistakes and shouting at me’: Father recalls how Dhanush used to cry on his mother's lap

Actor-filmmaker Dhanush made a comeback as a director with his latest film Idli Kadai, which has raked in decent numbers at box office. Recently, Dhanush’s father and veteran filmmaker Kasthuri Raja opened up about the emotional and inspiring journey behind his son’s rise in cinema, while also revealing how the story of Idli Kadai was rooted in Dhanush’s childhood memories.

In an interview with Behindwoods, Kasthuri Raja recalled that Dhanush initially had no interest in becoming an actor. During his college years, he expressed a desire to quit studies to explore films, but his father insisted that he complete his degree first. When Dhanush was later asked to play the lead role in his father’s film Thulluvado Ilamai, he was reluctant and dreamt instead of becoming a chef. “He used to cry and beg me to let him go,” Kasthuri Raja said, recalling how they often had to wait for him to return from school to shoot his scenes.

Things became tougher when Dhanush’s brother Selvaraghavan took over the film as director. Kasthuri Raja revealed the young actor’s emotional struggle, saying, "Dhanush used to lie on his mother’s lap and cry, saying I don’t want this cinema. Brother (Selvaraghavan) is making mistakes, and he is getting mad and shouting at me." Despite the early difficulties, Dhanush eventually found his footing and is building a celebrated acting career as we are witnessing today.

Kasthuri Raja also shared that Idli Kadai was inspired by Dhanush and Selvaraghavan’s childhood visits to their grandparents’ village, where they would pick flowers to earn money to buy idlis from a local shop. The heartwarming film, about a son reviving his late parents’ idli shop, has reportedly earned approximately Rs 50 crore in India. (With inputs from Agencies)