Dhanush receives backlash for calling himself an ‘outsider’ at Raayan event: ‘What is this new level of idiocy’

Dhanush's speech at the audio launch of Raayan in Chennai has left the internet split. While some call out the actor, others come to his support.

Actor Dhanush left the internet split with his speech at the audio launch of his upcoming film Raayan. At the event, Dhanush called himself an ‘outsider’ while sharing a story about how he worked hard to buy a house at Poes Garden. The internet, however, reminded him that he hailed from a film family, too. (Also Read: Dhanush calls Pawan Kalyan his favourite actor; says he wants to act with Jr NTR: ‘Other fans, don't hate me’)

Dhanush at the audio launch of his film Raayan in Chennai.

Dhanush’s speech

Dhanush claimed at the event that there was a lot of chatter after he bought a house at Poes Garden, known for housing Rajinikanth and the late Jayalalitha. He said, “If I knew buying a house in Poes Garden would have become such a big topic of conversation, I would have simply got a small apartment. Should I not buy a house in Poes Garden? If I live on the street, should I stay there only?”

Dhanush then shared that when he was 16, he rode by in the colony to see Rajinikanth’s house. Him and his friend saw a group of people gathered there. “We were told, this is Jayalalithaa’s house. I stopped the bike and looked — on one side, there is Rajini sir’s house, on the other is Jayalalithaa Amma’s house. I thought to myself that one day, somehow, I want to buy at least a small house in a posh locality like Poes Garden. The Poes Garden house today is a gift to the 16-year-old Venkatesh Prabhu (his birth name).”

Dhanush gets backlash

While the story is inspirational about how hard work could get you anywhere, the internet reminded Dhanush that he did not come from the ‘streets’ as his father is director Kasthuri Raja. One miffed person wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “Its funny when a Nepo Kid like #Dhanush is talking about starting from a scratch.. Like, damm your family has a cinema background and you access it easily with no talents at all during your first few movies.. And you talk about being in streets? Do you know what is streets?”

Another X user pointed out that Dhanush’s father financed his first film when he was just 18 and he was married to Rajinikanth’s daughter by the time he was 20 after achieving success. “What is this new level of idiocy from Dhanush?” they wrote, adding, “Why do these actors act as if they are something out of the ordinary? Wearing a simple dress and a Rudraksha doesn't mean someone is simple and humble. The mindset is what matters! He is just aping his ex-father-in-law with these stories. It's so similar to the Fiat story of Rajini.”

“The Mosy irritating part for me in Audio launch more than dhanush speech that his kids have been given center stage and the artist and technician of the movie are sidelined. Well he is a Nepo so he works in this way,” wrote one person while another just shared a video of Dhanush’s speech writing, “#BanAudioLaunchEvents.”

However, some people also came to Dhanush’s support, with one person writing, “If yu can find some inspiration from it get it, else ignore..Spreading hatred is the worst thing v are doing. Wt satisfaction are yu getting?” Another chimed in, “Why are people hating on Dhanush’s speech? I actually found it inspiring tbh. I felt goosebumps.”

Upcoming work

Dhanush’s directorial Raayan will hit screens this Friday, with him, Sundeep Kishan and Kalidas Jayaram in lead roles. The film also stars SJ Suryah, Selvaraghavan, Prakash Raj, Dushara Vijayan, Aparna Balamurali and Varalaxmi Sarathkumar in key roles. He will also soon be seen in Sekhar Kammula’s Telugu-Tamil bi-lingual film Kubera. Nagarjuna, Rashmika Mandanna and Jim Sarbh also star in it.