'I want to play a negative role'

Cinema appears to be in his blood given that he belongs to a family of veteran film-makers, married to a talented director, son-in-law of one of the most popular film actors world over and himself a star of reckoning from the moment he made his debut in Tamil filmdom.

But Dhanush surprisingly never wanted to be an actor and wanted to charter unexplored seas as a marine engineer till fate willed otherwise.
 The star says his greatest advantage is that he looks ordinary, which gives him a chance to do meaningful roles that the most ordinary people can relate to.

No wonder, stardom sits lightly on Dhanush. He flaunts no air and is shockingly down to earth, honest and straight-forward.
But the hoi polloi air about Dhanush never stopped his films from being big grossers. His debut vehicle Thulluvado Ilamai, with Bangalore's very own Sherin, was a top grosser. His second film Kadhal Kondein went on to become a bigger grosser, which only proved that he was no flash in the pan. His third, Thiruda Thirudi, again with namma Chaya Singh, was a blockbuster. And Dhanush, the phenomenon, had arrived.

But that followed a host of failures and average films. They included the much hyped and critically-acclaimed Pudhupettai where Dhanush played the role of a dreaded gangster. “It was a dream come true,” says Dhanush of the film.

And with Polladhavan, where he plays the character of a boy who transforms into man, Dhanush was back among superhits. “It was a very well-conceived, well-constructed role. It explored the subtleties of any transformation,” Dhanush says.

As an actor Dhanush thinks it’s always best not to be hypocritical but be honest, straight and give others as much space and treat people with respect as you would like to be treated by them.
While comedy challenges and excites the actor, he says he would love to portray a psychotic some day. “I want to play a dark negative role, that of a psychotic or a bad guy. I am just tired of being the good one,” confesses Dhanush, who says he is always comfortable in thriller roles. “I always choose characters that suit my physical appearance and my persona,” he adds.

Dhanush works on his script three months prior to the start of a film. He’s thorough with his role before he ventures out.
   “The script must be compelling enough and the characterisation powerful,” he says.
He isn’t exploring his chances in other languages at the moment as he has his hands full and has signed up for two films.

In Kutty, he plays the role of a college lad and in Aadu Kalam, he plays a regular guy from Madurai.
So, how does he feel being the son-in-law of Rajnikanth? “I must say I feel like I am more of his (Rajnikanth) fan than a son-in-law. I have watched all his films and the best part is that I get to watch his films first before it is released. What more can I ask for?” he beams.