The Dhanush interview

Dhanush seemed to get more comfortable, smiled more and and opened up more as the interview progressed. Noticed this during the Mani Ratnam interview as well. This, I think, is a sign of a good interviewer. Gradually the subject senses an air of trust and comfort and they can be themselves. BR, whatever it is that you’re doing, it seems to be working. Good interview.

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"Original" Venkatesh

BR : Anyway, at all , we can get this in Tamil at all ?

Like someone else said , If Anupama Chopra can do Hindi , why not this in Tamil.

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Aadhy

Nice one, BR!

I was listening to this interview with headphones on at work, and the question about stalking comes up like…BOOM ! I stopped doing what I was doing and started watching the video to see how Dhanush is taking the question, whether his face or body language changed. To his credit, he took it really well and seemed to acknowledge that his earlier films did endorse such behavior. It’s nice of him to have said that he needs to be careful, especially since he seems to be vying for stardom (with all the glorification that comes with it) and not essentially making a name as a great actor by playing ‘characters’. Whereas I also hope he gets to explore his dark side as much as he can in films like Vada Chennai. Also liked the placement of the question, sandwiched between two other questions that seemed like veiled compliments.

You could’ve asked more about his collaborations with Vettrimaran, though I really liked that you made him speak about Vettrimaran’s guru, Balu Mahendra.

Also interesting to know that he thinks Kamal’s performance in Tenali as one of his greatest. I am not particularly a big fan of that ‘performance’, thought it was Kamal OTT-ing with an amazingly accurate Eelam Tamil accent.

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Reuben

He has become a really thoughtful actor. His response on how the most difficult part of acting is when the other actor sharing the screen space doesn’t offer enough to keep the scene engaging was proof that he immerses himself in the character.

Also agree on how comedy can be the most difficult role to play. Always felt Surya was the better actor in Pithamagan.

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Amit Joki

Excellent interview BR. I knew it was a German word, but from Inglourious Basterds? Who’d have imagined?

Also gold was that reply on what’s really the difficult part of acting. To me acting has always been to forget that you’re acting. For that you need the situations as live as they can be. If someone is really ‘acting’ or not into their part, it is as bad as violation of line of sight. It just fucks you off and makes you realise that you’re not the character but only trying to be.

BR, any off-the-camera question of where I could find his short films?

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blurb

This is not fair. Just not fair. I have barely had time to sink my teeth and blissfully float in your interaction with Mani Ratnam. And you outdo that and give one with Dhanush. Which is also just a level apart from anything I’ve seen. Simply awesome!

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blurb

And thanks for asking about stalking. Someone like him being careful with what he portrays on screen really says something about the efforts and the campaign.

Congrats, Iswarya.

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"Original" Venkatesh

He is just repeating things he has said in previous interviews , stock answers to non-stock questions. , except Wunderbar. … that was good.

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Jordan

Good interview. Dhanush really opened up a lot during his answers, and he really seemed to have cherished his time working with Balu Mahindra. Thanks for asking about that, because that has been a collaboration of Dhanush’s which tends to be overlooked, yet he had so many nice things to say about it. Although I can’t say I agree with him on Thenali being a National Award-Winning performance from Kamal Haasan, lol. As an Eelam Tamil, I felt his accent was quite good like Aadhy said, but the way he performed those dialogues were so hammy and didn’t feel natural at all.

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Mary Kutty

Someone here made a comment about the resemblance between Vetrimaaran and Dhanush at the level of body language, comportment etc. But in the image above (the YouTube link) shows an uncanny physical similarity as well. The scrawny Dhanush seems to be gone..

Will watch the interview soon..

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praneshp

@brangan: Two is not a big enough sample size, but does this mean you will try to interview people before a big release? If yes, do you think you might be biased by the fairly recent interaction? Some people will definitely perceive that you are biased, for sure 🙂

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MANK

This turned out be pretty generic except for the stalking question and the discussion on BaluMahendra

Praneshp, that’s not what I am worried about. The thing that worries me is that Now he’s going to be dependent on the film industry for material for the website. So …😋

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tonks

You come across as really having a conversation, rather than an interview. Both of you seem at ease, I really enjoyed watching this.

Dhanush comes across to be very likeable, modest, intelligent and thoughtful. Thank you for asking the stalking question. His answer gives hope for change.

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mahi

Thenali is interesting. But like the part Dhanush saying it’d be super difficult for him to pull off a Guna or Michael madana kama rajan. Kamal himself would not be able to repeat his run from Manmadha Leelai till Virumandi. I quite liked Uttama villain, Papanasam, and Vettaiyadu vilaiyadu for the performer in him, seems he needs a flick of switch to turn on the magic again.

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Agreed with Jyoti, fairly lightweight interview compared to the MR one. Not that a heavy one was expected.

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Amit Joki

Watched the movie. If I have one thing to say, when you walk back from the theatre you will probably want to carry RAJKIRAN with you, to your home and cuddle with him (Samantha and Madonna are the other ones I’d do the same with but you get the point). He is as cute as a panda in this film.

The film has such a positive vibe. Waiting for your review BR!

Thalaivaa thatti thookitinga! 😎😎😎

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praneshp

@MANK: So I was worried about what I was worried about, and now what you said as well. Thanks. Looking forward to 3 day waits for reviews.

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blurb

Amit-Joki : Dhanush :: 1980s-Baradwaj-Rangan : 1980s-Kamal

😀

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blurb

@praneshp and @MANK — seen Rajeev Masand or Anupama Chopra? They interview actors/directors before release. But, to me, they seem pretty honest when it comes to reviewing a film. As in, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan doesn’t get a free pass because she gives an interview to Rajeev Masand before the release. He will still “bash” the movie if he doesn’t like it.

See below link (if you haven’t already): it’s a video of an interview/conversation type thing that happens between Anupama Chopra, Raja Sen, Rajeev Masand.. and Mayank Shekher. It’s a very enjoyable and endearing conversation where the reviewers tell us their side of the story.

Amongst the youngsters, I love the video content that the Fully Filmy guys produce. I appreciate that they interview many people who aren’t necessarily perceived as the “face of the film” (like actors, directors, music directors), but do play an important role in making a movie what it is. They interview dance choreographers, editors, make-up artists, trainers etc.

We can always debate about whether or not a reviewer is honest or if they are sell outs. But, it all boils down to whether we are convinced about what they write and say, no?

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Kannan

Don’t know who is insulted more, kamal or rangan

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Srinivas R

Nice to see Dhanush not hiding behind the usual excuses and saying, he will be more responsible in future.

On a different note, here is my wish list for your next interviews – Aishwarya Rajesh, Aravind Swamy, Nayanthara, Sreekar Prasad, Sabu Cyril, Nasser, Karthik Subburaj

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Nishanth Krishnan

If I were Dhanush, I wouldnt have taken the “posh role” question well. The question is filled with assumptions about who can be posh and who can not. I agree that Indian directors have made the same assumptions before casting Dhanush in many roles and Baradwaj Rangan is probably just mirroring it. But it is still a ridiculous question

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Amit Joki

Kannan: It would definitely be Brangan 😁😁😁 To be compared with Dhanush, I don’t think Kamal would have been offended, but likening myself to BR is offendable to the latter ☺

But you know that the only real comparison being made was about the amount of fanaticism I and BR show to our respective heroes? ☺

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MANK

Blurb, I would never doubt brangans integrity. Otherwise I wouldn’t be here .I was reminded of an earlier comment brangan had made (many times)about how the industry people have never bothered him about his reviews because he hardly interacts with them or he isn’t dependent on them . That’s all.

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MANK

Or rather brangan has wondered to that effect Everytime he has been asked that question. Regarding Masand, Chopra etc.. I would reserve my comments 😃

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Iswarya

Thank you, BR, for asking that question to Dhanush. I could see it in the last few movies that Dhanush has been treading cautiously with respect to choice of roles. But then, it’s great to see you putting the question to him right there in the open and him spelling out loud what he believes in.

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I don’t know why this integrity question keeps cropping up. Today it’s interviews. Tomorrow, I might write a screenplay. Or author another book talking to many film people.

No amount of clarification from my side will help. You have to make up your mind after reading the review. Everything that you need to make up your mind — it’s all in the review.

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Nishanth Krishnan: If I were Dhanush, I wouldnt have taken the “posh role” question well. The question is filled with assumptions about who can be posh and who can not.

I disagree.

If I asked, say, Gautham Menon about why he cast Dhanush, then, yes, what you say might hold water. But I am asking Dhanush if he’d accept such a role — and this comes after the question where I ask him HOW he chooses his roles.

So far, he has chosen to portray a certain type of character, from a certain social class, and I wanted to know — given things like his fan base etc., which all actors are cognizant of — if he’d be open to playing a posh character. Not whether he can be posh.

It’s like this. I have been writing in English all along. You could ask me if I’d be open to writing in Anandha Vikatan tomorrow.

That’s all there is to it.

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sanjana

Reviewer and interviewer. Conflict of interests? Well, every critic or reviewer is to some extent biased. He will give soft reviews for favourites and strong reviews for others. So why should we mind whether someone interviews and writes reviews just after the film is released? It does not make any difference. To be objective is different from appearing to be objective for the sake of it. And one need not be defensive everytime someone asks this question directly or indirectly. Interviews are much more valued than reviews because there are too many reviews out there. Everyone becomes a reviewer after watching a film.

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blurb

MANK: No, no, no, no, no. This is not fair. You have to finish that thought in writing. What about Masand and Anupama Chopra? Please say it, we will later agree to disagree!!! 😀

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Vidya

I’ve been a long time lurker / stalker of your blog brangan since your express days..Heck I was one among only 4 girls to get the Indian express delivered to my medical college hostel room 7 yrs back just to read what you wrote..I love your writing sir and had started to worry like all your commenters here if your FC move was a good thing or a bad thing..I spent a whole evening worrying for you wondering how big a move this is for you! And I have to say that this interview and the maniratnam one made me happy inside 😀 and I decided to finally comment because I was operating on someone (OT usually has the radio playing) and a song made me think of something you wrote..Thank you for being you!

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Vidya

I’m the kind of reader who has you in her head as a certain kind of person…And I would not like that image of you in my head broken by actually seeing you in a video…It’s almost like brangan in my imagination after reading you will invariably be better than the real brangan… Part of the anxiety with your move to FC was because of this..But with these interviews I ve made my peace..The real you and the writer in my head are both good and more power to you! don’t know if that made any sense sir

PS the vetrimaran interview you seemed nervous and spoke too fast and sounded like a mama writing letter to the Hindu editor

And now you are the cool, calm , smart interviewer 😀 I feel like hi fi ING you now

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praneshp

@brangan (and also @MANK and @blurb): I don’t doubt/question your integrity. I’ve been a reader/fan for a decade now and I’m looking forward to the next. I was asking you something like “I interviewed X, who was such a nice guy, and look how well he is acting here.”. How do you avoid that kind of a thought process creeping into your head? For some context, because I love Thala off-screen (for some publicly known stories and some stuff my father has told me about him), I cannot find his dancing comical. I wasn’t saying that you’d write a favorable review to secure your next interview. Apologies if that’s how it came across.

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GODZ

April 16, 2017

I like the interview..Its just my opinion..Dhanush has still a long way to go as an Actor. Yes he won an National award…But IMO he is not a versatile Actor. So far with exception of few flims, 90% of the time the character he played was boy next door(BND). This BND has fallen in love, failed in love, married but got some mental disorder, or it could be he is jobless and aspiring for some ambition and i can go on and on . But still its BND. Just like James bond Series..We can put most of Dhanush flims as BND series..But Dhanush is smart..He should have definitely thought about this…and as he said “ENPT” might break this mold..

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Raj Balakrishnan

April 16, 2017

BR, love these interviews. Wondering if you could interview Adoor Gopalakrishnan, probably India’s senior most art house films director. His take on Bollywood, commercial films and cinema in general would be very interesting.

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Srinivas R

Ramchander Krishna (@ramctheatheist)

GODZ – Agree with you partly, more than BND, Dhanush has pitched himself as the underdog who can’t catch a break and then turns himself into a regular masala movie hero. All his successful movies seem to have this common theme. It is different from the underdog that tamil cinema is used to, the economically weak and socially “local” guy who still has the swag to challenge the big bad villain and I don’t remember too many movies where he is bashing 30 goons in gravity defying stunt. His characters are given to self depreciation and a bit of angst.I wish he occasionally comes out of that mode..

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Somehow these days I don’t feel a connect with any of the characters Dhanush plays. Aadukalam was perhaps the last film in which I felt he did a brilliant performance that wasn’t “calculative”. Every other film choice of his after that seems to have a hidden agenda. A kind of “let me please the X target audience by doing Y.” It’s like he’s become conscious of the limelight around him and is wilfully trying to expand its circumference.

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Amit Joki

And this calculative guy chooses to make a film like Pa. Paandi with Rajkiran with all the knowledge of A/B/C sections assimilated over 17 years.

This guy also gives a bulk of his call sheet to Vada Chennai, a trilogy when he could have, with his sense of punctuality, completed 3 BND films quite assured of success, in the span of one part of Vada Chennai, considering Aadukalam did nothing much in increasing his fanbase.

Dhanush is just unlucky that there are far too less directors worthy of him as a performer imo.

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Shankar

This video hits 50k views in 4 days while the MR Part 1 just got there and the other MR parts are chugging along…not sure if that says something?! 🙂

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GODZ

@Amit..Typical Rant of a Fan boy..No body questions Dhanush Potential Here…Its because we saw the potential in him, we want him to do more versatile roles and as i mentioned in my comments, he is already doing this. But no body can deny the fact that BND was always his easiest choice most of the times for the past 10 years of his career..and wait..Is scorsese in town..Thanks Amit..It seems scorsese thought that Dhanush is only Actor worthy of his scripts after dicaprio

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pato

Well its not like vada chennai is some art house film or something totally offbeat. It is a gangster movie and sure it will have mass moments that will cater to his fans. Will dhanush will do a movie like iraivi or orange mittai??.

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I never cease to be touched and amazed that people (in this case, a reader named Rajashree) take time out from their schedules to write mails like this one. For a writer, this is gratifying validation that what you’re doing means something. Sharing with permission.

Dear Mr. Rangan:

I hope this epistle finds you well. I write this long overdue email to you, merely to be vociferous about recent transitions that you have made.

I have been an avid reader of your film reviews ever since I started Law School back in 2010. For a movie buff like me, I must confess that your reviews were something to eagerly look forward to. As an old fashioned soul, I’ve consistently embraced the feeling of paper in my hands. Consequently, it helped immensely that your reviews were in print in The Hindu.

I then started reading unedited versions of your reviews on your blog. Lately, I noticed that complete versions of your reviews are now hosted on another website. As has been my unwavering habit, on perusal of the comments section,as expected, there was an interesting debate on this transition (in keeping with the “cool” tag of said section).

I for one, have always been an ardent reader and never a participant to this section. But in reviewing you thoughts on this discussion, I felt obligated to let you know of my take on the same.

Please continue to do what you do Mr. Rangan. Speaking for readers like me, I can safely assure you that we are more interested in your content than the platform that hosts it. Undoubtedly, not everyone is going to share this opinion. Nonetheless, I wanted you to hear this from me. There is no discernible reason to to be discontent with your reviews due to this “change”. That is my honest (though unsolicited) two cents on the issue.

On the personal front, I have always felt an unprecedented sense of familiarity and association with your writing. Your piece “Madras to me…” was a perfect articulation of what the City means, even to a frequent visitor like me. Your article entitled “Two score and more” on the special place that Ilayaraja’s music occupies in every fan of his work (including myself), only fortified my opinion that his music is an ever-giving source to a myriad of feelings.

Be it your incisive breakdowns of Mani Ratnam’s cinematic idiosyncrasies, the impeccable English packed in your critique or your studied appreciations of youngsters in the film industry, your writings have been, without exception, a treat to read.

So, yes, in a nutshell, I wanted to ask you to continue your good work. I don’t assume that you required this validation, but here it is anyway.

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Amit Joki

pato: The real question is do directors who did Iraivi and Orange Mittai even consider Dhanush for the role. Did the script even went to him for perusal? I’d bet my ass it didn’t.

You can’t question Dhanush’s will to experiment. He’s done Maryan, Pudhupettai, Mayakkam Enna kind of stuff, hell even Shamitabh and Thodari too, the latter when he is in the top phase of his career. It is just that only Vettrimaaran, Selvaraghavan are comfortable taking seemingly powerful performance oriented scripts to his table.

Fortunately, Karthick Subburaj has convinced himself that he can handle Dhanush in his next film.

The performance:mass moments would be in a ratio 100:1 for Vada Chennai.

GODZ: 😁😁😁 whoa you seem to be much worked up. If you ask me, if Scorcese came to Tamilnadu I’d bet he will direct Dhanush first in any case, if he’s seen his body of work.

P.S

Since DiCaprio reference is made, in Hollywood, if you act extraordinarily, you become a star. In Kollywood, that ain’t the same thing. The actorly films he’s done have not done well at the BO, but he’s still done that. Only because he’s both a star and an actor that he’s been able to produce Kaaka Muttai, Visaaranai ( a film he decided not to even hear the script of because that would mean he would want to do it but would mean Vettrimaaran would not be able to direct it asap because of Dhanush’s commitments which is why he decided to produce it instead), NRD ( many would agree that this gave VJS the second lease of life ), Amma Kanakku, and a biopic of Thangavelu Mariyappan is on cards and where do funds come from? From art house films huh? You have to see the larger picture.

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GODZ

@Amit..You are die hard fan of Dhanush Are not you? I guess no body wants Dhanush to act in Art house films or act in mass masala films so that he can earn money and present good cinema..Actually Dhanush himself will smile at you comment if he reads it…”Namba mela evalo paasama irukanga…”

Versatility does not mean once has to do art house films. Aamir Khan does not give art house films..But look at his roles? How versatile they are and please dont start like Hindi, Tamil audiences etc..For anyone, it all starts with actors willful goals..If you give a script like Maari to Amir, do you think he will accept it?..He wont..But Dhanush will Reason: ” is wilfully trying to expand its circumference.” No body complains it. Its an actors wish and probably it could be the right decision for him. But it will limit you very much as an Actor..Look at Robert Downey and other stream of starts we are losing to super hero Black hole..Its Mass masala..Hollywood version.Their goals : Money.. Aamir/Kamal Intention : Money and Class.

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pato

April 19, 2017

amit: I have no issues with dhanush doing masala movies,but are his so called “commercial movies” at least average?? If all of his commmercial movies are as good as kodi, no one will complain but what can we say about naiyaandi, thangamagan, thodari etc. Why is he not able to produce mass movies like polladhavan or kodi regularly??

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rothrocks

April 19, 2017

@ Amit Joki: I was not aware that Tom Cruise or Keanu Reeves, especially the latter, acted extraordinarily well. Even FFC couldn’t do much with him so it’s not like he didn’t get a chance.

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Amit Joki

April 19, 2017

GODZ: I’d be happy if he smiled. Yes, nobody expects. But that’s what is eventually happening. You can see this interview where he says commercial films source art house/small non-commerical films.

Comparison to Amir aged 52 is quite unwarranted. Amir was a lover boy, Salman was a lover boy, Shah Rukh was one too in their early stages. Amir and Salman reinvented themselves in this decade, while you know what’s happened to Shahrukh.

How could you expect 33-year-old Dhanush to be like 52-year-old Amir Khan? Let me mark the day when Dhanush is 52, like silencer does in 3 Idiots and let us revisit and then compare the filmography of Dhanush and Amir Khan.

Also this comment reminds me a quote from Virat Kohli:
Back then, people expected me to behave like 33-year-old, it doesn’t work that way.

You need to be active. You need to be in the minds of the people. Look at Siddarth, who has become too choosy. People won’t take him seriously.

pato: Law of averages. “no one will complain”, no one that matters for commercial films are complaining for that matter. If societal microscopic dissection and analysis are ignored, the other masala films are a hit because they entertained people, and sometimes that’s more than enough.

Masala films are more about the audience. If they are entertained, then the film has done its 100 percent. That such masala films also happen to be cinematical brilliance like Kodi, Polladhavan is just a cherry on the already yummy cake.

rothrocks: I was not aware of having commented that the converse is true. I just merely stated that if you’re an extraordinary actor, you are a star. I never stated the vice-versa.

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Anu Warrier

Er, not to interrupt the fanfest since I’m not well-versed with Dhanush’s body of work, but Aamir began reinventing himself long, long before a decade. If he came in as lover boy, he also did films like Raakh simultaneously.

But I’ll agree with Amit that comparisons between two actors from different generations, cinema culture, etc., rarely work.

But this line: in Hollywood, if you act extraordinarily, you become a star.

Simply. Not. True. Or you wouldn’t have good actors who languish for lack of star wattage, whose stardom will not sell their films. Let’s not deify Hollywood – it’s as good or bad as our film industry, albeit with more money.

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Aditya (Gradwolf)

“Versatility does not mean once has to do art house films. Aamir Khan does not give art house films..But look at his roles? How versatile they are and please dont start like Hindi, Tamil audiences etc..For anyone, it all starts with actors willful goals..If you give a script like Maari to Amir, do you think he will accept it?..He wont”

This is also simply speculation. He did accept Dhoom 3 and Ghajini.

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” I just merely stated that if you’re an extraordinary actor, you are a star. ” – This is also not true. I mean, sure Paul Giammatti is worth a bunch of million dollars like most recognised hollywood names but he’s not a STAR, just a wealthy actor. Could you launch a big budget film with Giammatti headlining it? Looks are part of the equation everywhere.

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GODZ

@Aditya..So do you think Scripts of Maari and Dhoom 3/Ghajini are equivalent.. 🙂

@Anu: When comparison is done, purely in the spirit of actor and his intentions rather than their works I guess its fine. The idea of reinventing themselves pretty much occurred to all actors no matter which generation they are. The point is how successful where they were in the idea and how did they do it..

@Amit: Times Run Fast..When Aamir Did Lagaan, he was 36..Until Earth..I always used to think Aamir as a Chocalate boy..Then when I saw his role in Earth..I was thinking like he is trying to do something different because he is a villain in that movie. And its From Lagaan..Aamir started to do different roles and from that moment till now..i challenge no characters of Aamir will be same(their could be some rare exceptions) But Aamir take on each of them is quite unique..Same with Kamal..After his unsuccessful attempt with “Vikram”, he re-tried with “Apporva sagatharargal” (he was 34!!)and from their on till now, You could see such a variety and their by difference in each and every performance. Even with Horrible “Maharasan”..Kamal was impressive with his madras slang..So coming back to Dhanush..its a wait and watch approach..For me Dhanush performance in both Raanjhanaa and Aadukalam are high points of his Career. He is one actor After Ompuri who proved that looks matter least..So When he does movies like Maari, Thodari at this point of his career..It really disappointing..So its up to Dhanush choice..(Hope future People wont call him as BND dhanush just we call actor mohan as “Mike Mohan”)

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Amit Joki

Anu and Madan: Point duly noted. I conceived that notion when I was reading Sidney Lumet’s Making Movies and he speaks of having worked with great actors who also happen to be stars. Also Tom Hanks, DiCaprio, DeNiro, Morgan Freeman and the like are both great actors and stars too imo, which was why I though that to be the case. Turns out my sample size is too small.

GODZ: Dhoom 3/Ghajini is ‘Hindi’ masala while Maari is ‘Tamil’ masala but both are masala nonetheless, so there’s your equivalence. Also you seem to be making Maari stand in poor light when it wasn’t even half as bad as you are making it out to be imo. It was ordinary but bad? Meh. Senjiruven 😂😂😂

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Anon

Amit Joki: You would do well to drop the garb you attempt to throw on yourself of being somewhat neutral and not a blindly biased Dhanush fan. Then there will be no need to moderate yourself and you can speak truly. Not that I’m not laughing at your attempts at neutrality.

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Salim

Tom Hanks is much more limited than Aamir Khan. He has 2 oscars. So what? Aamir is improving Indian cinema to level of hollywood. After Lagaan, he could have accepted any of the offers but he refused.

Dhanush can become the next Dev Patel in hollywood. Why hollywood are obsessesed with underfed scrawny Indians? That sells in hollywood market. Aamir looks better than hollywood white actors.

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Amit Joki

Me trying to be neutral? Are you kidding me? Haven’t I taken Dhanush’s side right from the start.

Oh. Yes. I know what you have done. When you have nothing to call out in an argument, call out that person, try to score some brownie points. And you are smart. No one can even call you with your screen name.

I am a blind Dhanush fanatic if I reply to others’ arguments along the line: You argument sucks. Go f**k yourself. Dhanush is always the best.

But when I produce civilized counter arguments it becomes me trying to be neutral? You are hilarious man!

You never read me through. You always read me over with your preconceived thoughts. Good luck 🙂

Salim: Thanks for voicing the prejudices that people envelope within themselves. It really requires guts to lay open their prejudices out in the public 🙂

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Anu Warrier

GODZ, I agree with you about reinvention. It took Amitabh two tries and two sabbaticals, one forced, to reinvent himself. Then he had to get out of the trap of playing benign patriarch in every film following.

Not everyone can, or wants to. In that, I think Aamir is probably the person who is systematically reinventing himself with every role. I think even Dhoom and Ghajini were ‘new’ where he was concerned.

Amit, you remind me of a very young me – only, my idol was Amitabh Bachchan and woe betide anyone who said anything critical about him. 🙂 I can honestly say I was completely and utterly biased towards him, and didn’t pretend to be objective – not one bit.

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Salim

Amit, are you denying this prejudice does not exist in Hollywood? Sorry to hurt your feelings but this is how hollywood works.

As Aamir fan, I cannot be more proud that he is able to get hollywood producers to invest in bollywood movies. He grosses more with his offbeat films than Hollywood independent movies. Fuck hollywood.

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sanjana

It is like old times. Nothing changed. With FC or without FC. Old wine in new bottle.

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Dkfanalways

As Amit here says, it isn’t Dhanush’s fault that he isn’t being cast in completely offbeat films. The directors do not approach him thinking that they wud have to pay him higher rennumeration and they go for lesser known actors.

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Dhanda Soru

People who defend Dhanush’s choice of crappy films talk as if he was held at gunpoint to do those films. I suppose there’s some merit in the argument that directors would rather work with someone like Vijay Sethupathi, someone who’s paved his way to stardom with relatively offbeat films. But I can’t help but feel that that argument’s also something of a copout. He had the opportunity to radically re-invent himself post-Aadukalam , but he hasn’t really done that particularly well imo. His track record as both actor and star since 2011 is pretty patchy at best.

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Amit Joki

Okay. I will better not reply to any Dhanush criticisms here, because it becomes me trying to be neutral or objective (not a retort to you Anu) 🙂 His success will speak for him 🙂

Salim: Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Irrfan Khan, Gulshan Grover, Frieda Pinto are some of the renowned Indian artists who have acted outside India too. I don’t know about you, but, the common thread of the above actors are that they are great actors, “underfed scrawny Indians”? I don’t think so that description applies to anyone in the list, but is definitely describing Dhanush 🙂

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Srinivas R

I am a Dhanush fan and I agree that his masala movies are crappy most of the time, except for the odd VIP or so. I console myself saying at least he hasn’t gone the way of Vikram, a terrific actor whose last entertaining masala movie was about 10 years ago.

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GODZ

“His success will speak for him…” Mudiyale…. On a lighter note..The ultimate inference of this post is… Amit is the unofficial head of “All World All India Dhanush Munnetra kazhagam” and who knows he might become a Minister one day if Dhanush becomes CM..

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Salim

For a supporting character, they need different personalities. Freida Pinto and Anil Kapoor are not ”great actors”. Om Puri, Shah are given lesser unsavory roles, Scrawny actors like Dev Patil, Suraj Sharma are given the leads as Hollywood to fit scrawny characters. If Hollywood are not always obsessed about dirty and poverty stricken India of grave dangers, we could expect a good looking Hrithik or Salman given a good character. Kangana and Alia are in Bollywood doing great work, Priyanka and Deepika are in Baywatch XXX for what exactly? So yeah, fuck Hollywood.

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Dkfanalways

Dhanda Soru : He had to keep doing films. That was necessary. He couldn’t have just kept waiting for a director to approach him with an offbeat role. Audience had to remember him. He couldn’t become too choosy or else he have gone crazy sitting at house. Anyway it’s for good that Dhanush has become the star he is. Now he can do quality films occasionally and they will be remembered for long. Look at VJS, he has done so many offbeat films but nobody remembers most of them. You don’t want to do offbeat films just for the sake of doing them. You want to do good offbeat films that are remembered for long. And good offbeat films don’t come to you always

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Dhanda Soru

“He had to keep doing films. That was necessary. ”

Well, sure, but does that mean you have to churn out mostly mediocre crap?

“Now he can do quality films occasionally and they will be remembered for long.”

Forgive me for being rude, but what the actual fuck? So, this is the standard we’re setting for our finest? Stretches of mediocrity with the odd good film? I get that Kollywood is a largely commercial industry, but how can we expect the industry to evolve if we’re content with setting such low standards?

“Look at VJS, he has done so many offbeat films but nobody remembers most of them.”

Sure, not all of his offbeat ventures are memorable. But most of them are, and they easily rank among Tamil cinema’s finest in the last few years. Say what you will VJS, the man at least strives to give something different, something that Dhanush, by and large, seems averse to. That wouldn’t be too big of a deal if his commercial films were consistently good. Needless to say, they are – by and large – anything but.

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Jyoti S Kumar

I don’t understand why this is about Dhanush? Is mediocre movies a bane of only Dhanush? Is there any actor (of the current generation), in the industry TODAY who’s roster of films doesn’t has mediocrity more than gems?

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Dhanda Soru

@Jyoti S Kumar:

No one’s saying that Dhanush alone makes mediocre films, but – personally speaking – there is a sense of frustration with Dhanush, partly because he can do so much better. I don’t feel this way about Surya or Vikram. Actors who – despite being talented – couldn’t care less about quality (for the most part, anyway). Another thing that irks me is the asinine defense that some of his fans make. This whole “good roles aren’t really coming to him” defense is getting pretty damn old.

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Vidhya M

Random thoughts: I feel, we, as audience, tend to set the bar for each actor as per “our” judgement of “their” calibre. As long as they cross it, we cheer for them. If they underperform once or twice, we bolster them. However if they defy our expectations and go to raise the bar – then we start trolling them.

Which is why a Vijay Sethupathi gets extolled for being consistently above-average in his defined space. VJS is just about adequate in some of his roles and still gets away with bonus marks for his “slang” and his “local boy looks” and for supporting good talent!

Whereas a Dhanush who was just about expected to be an also-ran, with occasional filmfares and hits – went on to win the national award, marry into a celebrity family, gain international acclaim, ventured into Bollywood, music, production, direction all with some degree of success! And duh he is to act in Hollywood next!

And instead of being happy for this local-bred, self-made talent, a big chunk of the onlookers and observers troll him for Suchileaks, other people’s divorces, being under his father-in-law’s wings (even now!), bad English, bad Tamil (in his songs) & what not.

A Thodari or a Naiyandi (not Maari which I doubt few have watched to understand its quirkiness) does not take away from his body of work and steep learning curve. The plethora of bad movies he did initially was due to his naivety and lack of a proper mentor (like KB to Kamal). His later Padikkadhavan and the stalker movies were the ones that came his way – thanks to his looks. That he took the trouble to break the mould is commendable here.

Aamir and Kamal were blue eyed boys who’ve never faced any issues getting accepted in the industry – thanks to their background, their conventional made-for-movies personality and looks and their image as an intellectual!( Even Kamal faces some gripe now and then, but Aamir gets away playing a college kid at 44!)

I just wish Dhanush gets accepted in GVMs ENPT, just to show that suavity lies in attitude and not looks. It could open more “doors” for him, other than the Boy-next-door stereotype.

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Amit Joki

Vidhya M: You came like the soothing rain providing respite from the scorching sun. Thanks a ton 🙂

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Honest Raj (formerly 'V'enkatesh)

I don’t understand why this is about Dhanush?

But this thread is really about Dhanush, no? Or maybe, Dhanush has advanced to the Om Puri/Naseeruddin Shah league? As Dhanda Soru says, I really don’t get the “good roles aren’t really coming his way” defense. He comes from a film family and is fortunate enough to have a lot of “connections” within the industry. To me, he’s the male version of Suhasini. She’s worked with almost every filmmaker (ranging from masala to art house) despite being a limited performer. As for VS, the word “offbeat” is too flippantly thrown around when people talk about him. More recently, I happened to see Sethupathi which is clearly among the best masala movies that I’ve seen in ages!

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“Aamir and Kamal were blue eyed boys who’ve never faced any issues getting accepted in the industry – thanks to their background, their conventional made-for-movies personality and looks and their image as an intellectual!(” – I was with you until you made this argument. Sorry, this doesn’t resonate as a contrast to Dhanush who also was privileged. Maybe he doesn’t LOOK it but looks are deceiving. If he hadn’t debuted in a film directed by his father, it would be easier to make the argument he made it on his own in spite of his film background. But he didn’t. He got it far easier than outsiders at the end of the day.

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Amit Joki

NOTE: If you’re going to read me over as a rant, please save yourself the trouble of reading by ignoring the following comment.

Madan & Honest Raj: Please watch the interview again for the sake of it, because you clearly have missed out on a lot, that I begin to doubt what you actually caught on.

Dhanush was “forced” into acting. Now, Madan, you’re making Kasturi Raja seem like Shankar, Mani Ratnam, Bala or the like. He wasn’t even known at the levels of SAC. Hell, I didn’t know his father was a director and lots of commoners aren’t familiar with him too. When a director “forces” his son, that says the amount of desperation, of having faced rejection by other actors.

He wasn’t trained to be in the spotlight like say Vijay, Simbu, who had their sons on screen even when they were kids, as a child artist.

Maybe he doesn’t LOOK it but looks are deceiving.

In his case, no. He was given the most worst (I am using double superlative deliberately) and humiliating welcome back then by the media. He was ridiculed to the extent of how could he even dare to be in front of the camera. That was the about of backlash he received for his looks, so please.

He comes from a film family and is fortunate enough to have a lot of “connections” within the industry.

Plain crap and bullshit. Dhanush wasn’t into acting. He was forced yet again by his Selvaraghavan who after narrating Kadhal Kondein to 10 actors, facing rejection casted his brother. The way you’re making up the clout of Dhanush’s family, Selva should have been done with casting, with the first actor he had in his mind. With all this clout and all, you know.

Honest Raj: You might be suggesting leveraging Superstar’s influence. If that’s so, let me tell you, Rajini recommended Dhanush to a remake of Kannada Film “Jogi”, which went on to become Parattai…some crap. Nalla recommendation la? Also, don’t know about you, I’d rather not have my success attributed to churning favours from my father-in-law or from my father for that matter

Also, have you even watched Kadhal Kondein, Pudhupettai, Maryan, Polladhavan, Aadukalam, Shamitabh, Mayakkam Enna? Were they not different? What’s wrong with Yaaradi Nee Mohini? It ran for 250 days goddamnit! 3 was also trying to be “different”, except that the latter portions came as a flashback to his Mayakkam Enna which wasn’t too old in the memories of people that time. What’s wrong with Maari? It was a “different” take on massy films with its own quirks. What of Anegan? It must surely be different even in your dictionary!

The fact is, these new age directors might be thinking why use a Lamborghini when we could very well use an Audi (performance wise)? These new age directors have great stories with an even better screenplay. VJS doesn’t have to give an elevating performance. He’s just a well-known pawn with the script being key pieces.

Iraivi was SJ Suryah’s film. It was his performance that elevated it. He was the queen there. He controlled it. Maryan, Mayakkam Enna, Pudhupettai wouldn’t have worked if Dhanush didn’t manage to be a queen there, like how Suryah was for Iraivi.

General observation: I love how adverbs are used in here, that is when Dhanush gives a good performance, he is being “ostensible” and when VJS gives a stock performance, there’s “subtlety”, “how well underplayed” kind of stuff.

I don’t want to criticise VJS at all, it is such unfair comparisons that make me point these out when I wouldn’t have, in general. VJS filmography is full of films made by sensible and good filmmakers and debutants who generally come good (case in point Dhuruvangal 16, Maanagaram, 8 Thoattakal), so when you’ve such good directors to work under, you won’t go wrong.

Also, since you loved Sethupathy, which I liked too, which was a debutant’s movie, try and watch Kavan, which is easily the worst masala movie I have ever seen, directed by old-timer K.V Anand. If you’re not getting the hang of the point I’m making even now, I am afraid if you ever will.

Dhanda Soru: This whole “good roles aren’t really coming to him” defense is getting pretty damn old.

I have been using the argument in response to idiotic questions such as “Would he do Iraivi” kind of shit.

Let’s look at the following directors:

Martin Scorcese: Who’s That Knocking At My Door and Bertha Boxcar – both with relatively unknown actors, third Mean Street – With De Niro – Instantly recognisable, more known than the previous two.

Christopher Nolan: Following, Memento with lesser known actors but is far more remembered for Batman Begins, which had fairly known cast.

You fail to notice the dynamics of a director. They establish themselves with smaller actors before signing more better known actors. Case in point, Karthick Subburaj has signed Dhanush, can you feel the theme continuing? Pizza and Jigarthanda had relatively unknown actors when Dhanush’s stardom is compared with, and I hope it becomes his landmark film of sort.

P.S

Also, for all that’s worth it, remember that he is 33. He was just forced into the industry with no mentors to help him out as Vidhya stated. His is the classic case of getting too much, too soon, though he’s managed it pretty well imo. We should be able to see better roles, I hope..

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“Hell, I didn’t know his father was a director and lots of commoners aren’t familiar with him too.” – But I did know him as the director of En Rasavin Manasile, which was a huge hit back in the day. People of my age group or older would be familiar with that film even if they didn’t know the name Kasthuri Raja.

I find it amusing that merely stating the facts has ruffled your feathers so much. You really need to do something about it and sorry for the unsolicited advice. Did I say he is AS privileged as Kamal? No. Did I deny that he faced more difficulty in acceptance than Kamal or AK did? No. But all that still doesn’t make him a self made man. Nobody whose appa is a director can be a self made man, especially when that appa only directs the film in which he makes his debut. Self made people don’t get roles on a platter, simple as that. They are not forced into acting, they are forced out of studios and asked to return another day because today there are no ‘vacancies’. I watched the interview carefully and I also know better than to believe every word said by celebrities as if it is 100% truth. It’s just an interview and not a court interrogation, so he’s not under oath and can choose to project a picture if he wants to. And I am not singling out Dhanush here; this is what all celebs do. The guy who tells people he’s never been less than utterly honest to the press is a liar.

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GODZ

I am making a comment here because I really want to correct the Misinformation filled in some of the post here…

Just because the movie run 250 days does not means Dhanush played a different role.. goddamnit..Haha..And Just because one use words like Crap..Bullshit.Shit.. what not..is not going to Alter anyones Opinion here….

“Aamir and Kamal were blue eyed boys who’ve never faced any issues getting accepted in the industry ” – Wrong..Its only Partially True..Kamal is the most hated person on the planet when he did “Hey Ram”…I am one of the 10 audiences in the theater when it was originally released and it was day 3..They were accepted only when they perfectly fitted to industries definition of Cinema and IF Kamal tried to do anything different..He was trolled like no other man in the industry…

And this Whole VJS comparsion is a diversion tactics(no matter which side the argument is)..Even Kamal and Aamir was bought into argument just to show that they reinvented themselves. Nothing else…So I am not going to comment anything about it…The core argument here is Whether Dhanush is trying Versatile roles or not..You can make excuses 1, 2, 3 etc..The bottom line is most of his roles (ofcourse with Excepions) are Monotonous and their by Limiting him as a performer..So I am not going to deviate from it..

Dhanush is amply rewarded for his Talents in all ways..So please dont play the victim card here..

But I see two sets of people commenting here(Fans who like Dhanush work and want more from him and Fans who are and will be satisfied with whatever work he does) and Just someone Critics Dhanush does not mean he is not a Fan of his works…When Dhanush utters this lines in “Aadukalam” “Vaathiyire En Seval Thokkadhu”, It literally gave me Goosebumps..But When I saw “VIP(2014)” and when I saw Samuthurakani scolding Dhanush..I was honeslty Fed up..How long Dhanush..? Right from the days of “Thiruda Thirudi(2003)” and Till now…?

Its Out of this frustration, we say that “Come one Dhanush You can be better than this”…Bottomline..You can be complacent with whatever he has done and Continue to bask in past glory…But thats not going to work…I am amazed that this being a Critic blog where many are too sensitive to constructive criticism directed at their idols..As a Fan of Dhanush Work, I always expect more from him and Yes I am not going to Stop Demanding from him no matter what the excuses are..and Yes..I am looking forward to All his future works..But please Dhanush if you are reading this Just one request..Please dont get another “Thitu” from another Father…Please…

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Sri Ganesh

Is Dhanush’s body of work comparable to Aamir or VJ Sethupathy who have each done a dozen or more good films with different performances. He is yet to venture out of certain mold in name of attracting youth audience. He has to learn how to reinvent himself from Nawazuddin Siddiqui and VJ Sethupathy. After Vijay, Arun Pandian, Vijayakanth and not to mention, his FIL Rajinikanth, this is no excuse. The audience are mostly willing and accommodating this look than a Siddarth, Madhavan.

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Salim

Aamir is not the most internationally known hindi actor despite Lagaan’s nomination and being invited to Berlin/Cannes as a jury member, It is Amitabh Bachchan!! Going by the logic here, Rajkumar Rao is the youngest national award winner and will soon be doing a hollywood film. Does that already elevate him? No, Rajkumar has to prove his versatility to even merit that discussion. Joke!!

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Honest Raj (formerly 'V'enkatesh)

Amit Joki: Did you even read my comment? The fact that he’s become a big star despite being a reluctant actor in his early days is a clear indication of his “privilege”. No, he’s NOT a “self made talent”. And, Kasthuri Raja was not an unknown entity (as Madan says). He made films with Sivaji, Vijayakanth, Prabhu, Murali, Kushboo, et al., But one cannot deny Selvaraghavan’s role in shaping up Dhanush’s early career.

Also, have you even watched Kadhal Kondein, Pudhupettai, Maryan, Polladhavan, Aadukalam, Shamitabh, Mayakkam Enna? Were they not different? What’s wrong with Yaaradi Nee Mohini?

Three of the eight films were directed by his brother. YNM (a terrible film though) was directed by Selva’s assistant.

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Ragenikanth

YNM one of the worst movies i have seen

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Ragenikanth

madan fully agree on interview of actors & all celebrities

majority with a handful of exceptions try to be very modest which looks very artificial

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Celeb interviews are not about the “truth.” I am not saying that celebs “lie” — just that they offer a version of themselves that might not hold up in a court of law. They do this for a number of reasons. Self-preservation. Image creation. Positioning/ branding. Protecting someone from getting hurt. Preventing themselves from getting trolled. Angling for a job. Maybe even self-delusion.

The same goes for stage speeches where X praises Y. ( I have been privy to many off-the-record conversations where X has dissed Y in the same breath.)

So the point with these things is to simply enjoy the show as an “entertainment.” The point isn’t “is it true?” but “is it interesting?”

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Vidhya M