Looks like it has become a trend among K’town actors to make a style statement sporting ‘veshti’, the traditional attire of Tamilians to public events! Dhanush started this fad in Tamil cinema. So when he arrived in a veshti for the audio launch of his much-awaited flick Thodari (Train) under Prabhu Solomon’s direction, it looked routine. But what surprised all present was his brother Selvaraghavan and his dad, director Kasthuri Raja, also attired in pattu veshti and kurta! All the celebrities hailed the son-in-law of Superstar Rajinikanth as ‘Ilaya Superstar’ (Young Superstar), and that he rightly merits the tag.
Dhanush started his speech in a modest way. “You are saying great things about me and I think it is more than I deserve,” he said in a polite tone amidst thunderous applause and whistles from the hundreds of fans who had gathered at the venue.
Pointing to his fans, he said, “I will strive hard till you are satisfied with my work and feel proud of me as an actor. Similarly, if you all want to make me proud, I have only one request — ‘Take care of your family and be a good son to your parents, good husband to your wife, and a good father to your children; there may be many people you come across in your life, but it is your kith and kin that stand by you till the end.”
He added, “My entire family is here — my mom who constantly prays for me, my dad who introduced me to films and my mentor and anna Selva. They are my pillars of strength.”
On Thodari, Dhanush says, “I did not strain myself for the film. It was my director Prabhu Solomon sir who had put his heart and soul and worked very hard for it. I met with an accident in 2004, and have had vertigo since then. This movie was fully shot on a live moving train! I was wondering how I would cope with and revealed it to Solomon sir on the first day of shoot. He treated me gently and never put pressure on me at any point of time. In fact, during each and every shot, he would climb up and enact the scene for me to ease out the height tension. He is highly focused.”
The national award winner also reveals that he never asked for the script narration from Prabhu — “When he approached me and told me that the entire story is happening on a moving train, all I asked was ‘when do you want the dates?!’. I had so much conviction — and now, after completing the film, I know my instinct was right.”
He also heaped praise on composer Imman saying that he is a fan of his, as the former’s melodies have a touch of Ilaiyaraaja. The Aadukalam actor added that his pair Keerthy Suresh has a bigger role than him! “She has, in fact, outshone me in Thodari,” he concluded.
