Dhanush turns 35 today: Here are 8 lesser known facts about the Tamil superstar

Dhanush is all set for his Hollywood release, The Extraordinary Journey Of The Fakir Who Got Trapped In An Ikea Cupboard which recently had its premiere at Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM).

As Dhanush celebrates his 35th birthday today, we take a look at a few unknown facts about the star. 

1) Dhanush’s real name is Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raj and wanted to become a chef and not an actor. He wanted to pursue Hotel Management course to be a chef. But Selvaraghavan, his elder brother, who is a director-screenwriter, convinced Dhanush to try his hand in acting. 

 

 

2) Dhanush entered the South Indian film industry at the age of 16. He shared his name with Kollywood actors Ilaya Thilagam Prabhu and  Prabhu Deva.

 

 

3) Dhanush met his wife Aishwarya Rajinikanth, who is Superstar Rajinikanth’s eldest daughter during the screening of Kadhal Kondaen in 2003. Aishwarya loved Dhanush’s performance in the movie and sent him a beautiful bouquet and also told him to stay connected. Aishwarya is two years older, and they got married on 18 November 2004.

 

 

4) Dhanush, being a zealous devotee of Lord Shiva, named his two sons Yatra (pilgrimage) and Linga (synonymous with Shiv Lingam).

 

 

5) According to reports, Dhanush was head over heels in love with a girl when he was 16 years old. However, sadly, she dumped the actor after he flunked his class 12 exams.

 

 

6) Dhanush’s Kolaveri di from the Tamil movie 3, features Shuthi Haasan, who became an instant hit on YouTube. Do you know that Dhanush wrote the lyrics in just six minutes? In fact, the rough version of the song was recorded in 35 minutes.

 

7) The actor is more inclined towards music. He writes and sings Tamil songs.

 

 

8)  In the year 2011, Dhanush was awarded the title of India’s ‘Hottest Vegetarian Celebrity’ by PETA.