Dhanush will soon be seen in Aanand L Rai's Atrangi Re. National Award-winning actor Dhanush is returning to Hindi films after a long gap with Aanand L Rai’s Atrangi Re and as a part of the film’s promotion, he recently appeared on a special episode of Koffee Shots with Karan with his co-actor Sara Ali Khan. Dhanush’s work in the Hindi film industry might just be limited to Raanjhanaa and Shamitabh, but he is an actor par excellence who has been given some exemplary performances in the Tamil film industry. In the chat, Karan asked Dhanush about his thoughts on the Indian film industry as a whole and how they should “look at themselves as products of Indian cinema, and not regional anymore.”
To this, Dhanush said that he has been promoting the same thought since 2013, when he was doing the promotions of Raanjhanaa. “I said the same thing that, ‘Don’t call it north films, south films, it should be Indian films, I’m an Indian actor’. So don’t write, when you write about me, like ‘south actor Dhanush’. I’m just an actor, that’s it,” he said.
When asked if Atrangi Re is an important film for him in the Hindi space, Dhanush said, “I don’t see this as ‘its a very important film for me in Hindi’. It is an important film for me because it’s directed by my brother so it is very important that way, but in other ways, every film I do is very important for me.”
He added that he doesn’t choose films based on languages, but on their story. “I don’t choose films based on ‘I need this for Hindi or I need this for Tamil’. Whichever story comes my way, I find it interesting, I try to be a part of it and I try to do justice to that character. That’s how I am seeing this one also,” he said.
Dhanush also appreciated Sara Ali Khan’s performance in the film. “She was very sincere from the word go,” Dhanush said, adding that he was “pleasantly surprised by how seriously she took this part.”
Explaining how the character of Rinku is a dream role for any actor, Dhanush said Sara “knew she landed a golden character.” “It is a dream role for any actor. When I heard the script, I told Aanand L Rai that I wish I had Rinku’s role but unfortunately, I can play only Vishu. It’s a brilliant role, and the beauty is that she knew this. She was sincere and hardworking. I was very surprised,” he added.
When Karan asked if he had any preconceived notion about Sara, Dhanush accepted he was “a little worried” if she can pull off the role as it was a difficult part to play. “To be honest, I was a little worried. It’s such a big and difficult role. I asked Aanand ji about how many films she had done before. He told me 2 or 3 films at that point of time. I was like ‘can she pull it off?’ And Aanandji kept telling me, ‘There is something I need and I see it in her.’ And he does. I don’t know how he cracks that. For some reason, out of nowhere, he brought me here to do Raanjhanaa. He had the conviction that this is my actor for the film. So, he must have seen something in her,” Dhanush replied.
Dhanush has previously worked with Aanand L Rai in Raanjhanaa which marked his debut in Hindi movies.
Also starring Akshay Kumar, Atrangi Re releases on Disney+ Hotstar on December 24.
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