Dhanush, the pan-Indian star (or should I say ‘pan-world’ star), is gearing up for his next release, Addsa Tamil-Telugu bilingual film directed by Sekhar Kammula, the director of the 2017 romantic film Fida. Over the years, Dhanush has delivered powerful performances, hit songs, wholesome directorials, and garnered a huge fan base. Completing 25 years in the industry and awaiting the release of his 51st film, Kuberaa, let’s take a ride back to his old classics.

AADUKALAM

This Vetrimaaran directorial gave the audience a perfect mix of Dhanush’s boy-next-door charm and an action hero avatar. The story revolves around a cockfight competition where Pettaikaaran has won a successful number of competitions, but the story turns when Karuppu (Dhanush) goes against the former’s words. This movie was well-received and got the team seven National Awards, including Best Actor for Dhanush.

Kaadhal kondein

This film was Dhanush’s second film, and it turned out to be a breakthrough for him as he was well-received as an actor and brought him into the league of other established lead stars. The story is about an orphan who was raised by a church priest, who then turns out to be a misfit, but a girl takes a liking to him while the majority of the students shun him. The music was composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja. The film turned out to be the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2003 and was remade in three other languages.

Thromuchram

A family drama that released in 2022 with Dhanush playing the role of a delivery boy not on good terms with his father. The story entirely revolves around Dhanush’s character ‘Pazham,’ who earns to sustain his family comprising his dad (Prakash Raj) and  grandfather (Bharathiraja). Nithya Menen plays Shobana, Pazham’s childhood best friend. The film bagged two national awards, Best Actress (Nithya Menen) and Best Choreographer (Satish Krishnan). Thiruchitrambalam marks the second collaboration of Dhanush with the director, Mithran R Jawahar, after ‘Yaradi Nee Mohini.’ The music is composed by Anirudh Ravichander.

Yaaradi nee mohini

This movie had to make it to the list. A 2008 romantic comedy starring Dhanush and Nayanthara as the leads, directed by the debutant director Mithran R Jawahar, and music composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, the film became a commercial hit and was well-received, especially by younger audiences who found Dhanush’s character, Vasu, relatable. This was a remake of a 2007 Telugu film, Aadavari Matalaku Arthale verule.

Pudhupettai

The 2006 crime action film is about a student (Dhanush) who becomes a gangster for survival. Though the audience did not positively receive the film, Dhanush’s performance grabbed everyone’s attention. The film was directed by Dhanush’s elder brother, Selvaraghavan, and the music was composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja. The film also had Sonia Agarwal and Sneha in the lead roles.