The Dhanush filmography covers more than two decades of Tamil, Hindi and Hollywood cinema. Dhanush (born Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja on 28 July 1983 in Madurai) is an Indian actor, director, producer, singer and lyricist, and in this complete Dhanush filmography you will find every lead movie with its year, role, budget and box office. He started with Thulluvadho Ilamai (2002), broke through with Kaadhal Kondein (2003) and Polladhavan (2007), and later became a two-time National Award winner for Aadukalam and Asuran. He then took his career to Hindi cinema with Raanjhanaa and to Hollywood with The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir and The Gray Man. His latest release is Kara (2026), and Om Chapter 1: Udhiram – The Blood Wood is next in line.

Dhanush Quick Profile

Detail	Information
Name	Dhanush (Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja)
Born	28 July 1983, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India
Profession	Actor, director, producer, singer, lyricist
Debut Film	Thulluvadho Ilamai (2002)
Breakthrough	Kaadhal Kondein (2003)
Hindi Debut	Raanjhanaa (2013)
Hollywood Debut	The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir (2018)
National Awards	Best Actor for Aadukalam (2011) and Asuran (2019)
Known For	Kundan (Raanjhanaa), Sivasami (Asuran), Karnan, Anbu (Vada Chennai), Raayan

Dhanush Movies List (2002–2007): The Early Years

Year	Film	Role	Budget	Box Office
2002	Thulluvadho Ilamai	Lead role	₹3 Cr	₹6 Cr net India
2003	Kaadhal Kondein	Vinod	₹4 Cr	₹10 Cr net India
2003	Thiruda Thirudi	Vasu	₹5 Cr	₹12 Cr net India
2004	Pudhukottaiyilirundhu Saravanan	Saravanan	₹4 Cr	₹3 Cr net India
2004	Sullan	Sullan	₹6 Cr	₹3 Cr net India
2004	Dreams	Lead role	₹7 Cr	₹4 Cr net India
2005	Devathaiyai Kanden	Lead role	₹6 Cr	₹9 Cr net India
2005	Adhu Oru Kana Kaalam	Lead role	₹8 Cr	₹5 Cr net India
2006	Pudhupettai	Kokki Kumar	₹7 Cr	₹6 Cr net India
2006	Thiruvilaiyaadal Aarambam	Siva	₹10 Cr	₹16 Cr net India
2007	Parattai Engira Azhagu Sundaram	Azhagu Sundaram	₹9 Cr	₹6 Cr net India
2007	Polladhavan	Prabhu	₹9 Cr	₹18 Cr net India

Movies List (2008–2013): The Breakthrough Years

Year	Film	Role	Budget	Box Office
2008	Yaaradi Nee Mohini	Vasu	₹11 Cr	₹21 Cr net India
2009	Padikkadavan	Lead role	₹10 Cr	₹18 Cr net India
2010	Kutty	Lead role	₹12 Cr	₹15 Cr net India
2010	Uthamaputhiran	Lead role	₹15 Cr	₹20 Cr net India
2011	Aadukalam	Karuppu	₹18 Cr	₹30 Cr net India
2011	Mappillai	Lead role	₹25 Cr	₹22 Cr net India
2011	Venghai	Lead role	₹20 Cr	₹18 Cr net India
2011	Mayakkam Enna	Karthik	₹15 Cr	₹18 Cr net India
2012	3	Ram	₹29 Cr	₹45 Cr net India
2013	Raanjhanaa	Kundan	₹25 Cr	₹60 Cr net India
2013	Maryan	Maryan	₹25 Cr	₹25 Cr net India
2013	Naiyaandi	Lead role	₹20 Cr	₹16 Cr net India

Dhanush Movies List (2014–2019): Stardom and National Honours

Year	Film	Role	Budget	Box Office
2014	Velaiilla Pattadhari	Raghuvaran	₹15 Cr	₹40 Cr net India
2015	Shamitabh	Danish	₹49 Cr	₹38 Cr net India
2015	Anegan	Multiple roles	₹30 Cr	₹40 Cr net India
2015	Maari	Maari	₹28 Cr	₹40 Cr net India
2015	Thanga Magan	Thanga Magan	₹28 Cr	₹30 Cr net India
2016	Thodari	Lead role	₹25 Cr	₹20 Cr net India
2016	Kodi	Kodi / Anbu	₹25 Cr	₹40 Cr net India
2017	Velaiilla Pattadhari 2	Raghuvaran	₹40 Cr	₹35 Cr net India
2018	The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir	Aja	₹143 Cr	₹183 Cr worldwide gross
2018	Vada Chennai	Anbu	₹30 Cr	₹50 Cr net India
2018	Maari 2	Maari	₹40 Cr	₹38 Cr net India
2019	Asuran	Sivasami	₹45 Cr	₹80 Cr net India
2019	Enai Noki Paayum Thota	Raghu	₹40 Cr	₹20 Cr net India

Dhanush Movies List (2020–2026): Pan-India Phase

Year	Film	Role	Budget	Box Office
2020	Pattas	Pattas / Adi	₹40 Cr	₹35 Cr net India
2021	Karnan	Karnan	₹46 Cr	₹55 Cr net India
2021	Jagame Thandhiram (Netflix)	Suruli	₹55 Cr	Streaming release
2021	Atrangi Re (Disney+ Hotstar)	Vishu	₹100 Cr	Streaming release
2022	Maaran (Disney+ Hotstar)	Maaran	₹50 Cr	Streaming release
2022	The Gray Man (Netflix)	Avik San	$200 Million	Streaming release
2022	Thiruchitrambalam	Thiruchitrambalam	₹30 Cr	₹77 Cr net India
2022	Naane Varuvean	Kadhir / Prabhu	₹35 Cr	₹25 Cr net India
2023	Vaathi (Sir)	Balamurugan	₹40 Cr	₹77 Cr net India
2024	Captain Miller	Eesa / Analeesan	₹60 Cr	₹50 Cr net India
2024	Raayan	Kathavaraayan “Raayan”	₹100 Cr	₹95 Cr net India / ₹160 Cr+ worldwide gross
2025	Kuberaa	Deva	₹120 Cr	₹91 Cr net India
2025	Idli Kadai	Murugan	₹100 Cr	₹50 Cr net India
2025	Tere Ishk Mein	Shankar	₹85 Cr	₹120 Cr net India / about ₹164 Cr worldwide gross
2026	Kara	Karasaami “Kara”	₹100 Cr	₹38 Cr net India

Movies Verdict Hit Or Flop

Film	Verdict
Thulluvadho Ilamai (2002)	Hit
Kaadhal Kondein (2003)	Super Hit
Thiruda Thirudi (2003)	Super Hit
Sullan (2004)	Flop
Dreams (2004)	Flop
Devathaiyai Kanden (2005)	Hit
Pudhupettai (2006)	Flop at release, now a cult film
Thiruvilaiyaadal Aarambam (2006)	Super Hit
Polladhavan (2007)	Super Hit
Yaaradi Nee Mohini (2008)	Super Hit
Padikkadavan (2009)	Hit
Aadukalam (2011)	Hit
3 (2012)	Hit
Raanjhanaa (2013)	Hit
Velaiilla Pattadhari (2014)	Blockbuster
Shamitabh (2015)	Flop
Maari (2015)	Hit
Kodi (2016)	Hit
Velaiilla Pattadhari 2 (2017)	Average
Vada Chennai (2018)	Super Hit
Asuran (2019)	Blockbuster
Karnan (2021)	Super Hit
Thiruchitrambalam (2022)	Blockbuster
Naane Varuvean (2022)	Flop
Vaathi (2023)	Super Hit
Captain Miller (2024)	Average
Raayan (2024)	Hit
Kuberaa (2025)	Average
Idli Kadai (2025)	Flop
Tere Ishk Mein (2025)	Hit
Kara (2026)	Flop

Directors in Films

Director	Films with Dhanush
Vetrimaaran	Polladhavan (2007), Aadukalam (2011), Vada Chennai (2018), Asuran (2019)
Selvaraghavan	Kaadhal Kondein (2003), Pudhupettai (2006), Mayakkam Enna (2011), Naane Varuvean (2022)
Mithran Jawahar	Yaaradi Nee Mohini (2008), Kutty (2010), Uthamaputhiran (2010), Thiruchitrambalam (2022)
R. Velraj	Velaiilla Pattadhari (2014), Thanga Magan (2015), Velaiilla Pattadhari 2 (2017)
Aanand L. Rai	Raanjhanaa (2013), Atrangi Re (2021), Tere Ishk Mein (2025)
Mari Selvaraj	Karnan (2021)

Dhanush as Director

Dhanush has also directed four films: Pa Paandi (2017), Raayan (2024), Nilavuku En Mel Ennadi Kobam (2025) and Idli Kadai (2025). Raayan, in which he also played the lead, is his biggest film as a director.

Top Grossing Films (India Net)

Rank	Film	India Net Collection
1	Tere Ishk Mein (2025)	₹120 Cr
2	Raayan (2024)	₹95 Cr
3	Kuberaa (2025)	₹91 Cr
4	Asuran (2019)	₹80 Cr
5	Vaathi (2023)	₹77 Cr
6	Thiruchitrambalam (2022)	₹77 Cr
7	Raanjhanaa (2013)	₹60 Cr
8	Karnan (2021)	₹55 Cr

Dhanush Awards & Honours

Year	Award	Work
2011	National Film Award for Best Actor	Aadukalam
2014	Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut (Hindi)	Raanjhanaa
2019	National Film Award for Best Actor (shared)	Asuran

Dhanush Latest Box Office Performance (2025–2026)

Film	Release Date	Performance
Idli Kadai	1 October 2025	About ₹50 Cr net against a ₹100 Cr budget
Tere Ishk Mein	28 November 2025	₹15.06 Cr on day one; ₹82 Cr net in week one; ₹120 Cr net lifetime
Kara	30 April 2026	About ₹38 Cr net against a ₹100 Cr budget

Tere Ishk Mein, his third film with director Aanand L. Rai, is the highest-grossing film of the Dhanush filmography in India, while Kara, directed by Vignesh Raja with Mamitha Baiju in the cast, struggled at the box office.

Dhanush Upcoming Movies

Film	Status
Om Chapter 1: Udhiram – The Blood Wood	Releasing 20 November 2026 (moved from 16 October to avoid a clash with Jailer 2). Directed by Rajkumar Periasamy, with Mammootty, Sai Pallavi and Sreeleela
Ilaiyaraaja biopic	Announced, release date not confirmed

Release dates for upcoming films may change.

From Debutant to Pan-India Star: The Story Behind Dhanush’s Filmography

The Dhanush filmography began with a shy debutant in Thulluvadho Ilamai (2002), a film written and produced by his father Kasthuri Raja, and many people doubted his looks and screen presence. His brother Selvaraghavan changed that with Kaadhal Kondein (2003), and Thiruda Thirudi proved he could also carry a mass entertainer. After a patchy 2004–2005, Polladhavan (2007) began his partnership with Vetrimaaran, which later produced Aadukalam, Vada Chennai and Asuran.

The Dhanush movies list shows a rare balance between art and commerce. Aadukalam (2011) brought his first National Award, and the song Why This Kolaveri Di made him famous across India the same year. Raanjhanaa (2013) opened the Hindi market, while Velaiilla Pattadhari, Maari and Kodi kept the mass audience happy. Asuran (2019) gave him a second National Award, and Karnan, Thiruchitrambalam and Vaathi followed with strong results. He also entered Hollywood with The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir (2018) and The Gray Man (2022).

His recent run has been uneven. Raayan (2024), which he also directed, became a solid hit with over ₹160 Cr worldwide, and Tere Ishk Mein (2025) was his biggest hit in India. Kuberaa, Idli Kadai and Kara could not recover their large budgets. With Om Chapter 1 set for November 2026 and an Ilaiyaraaja biopic announced, the Dhanush filmography keeps growing, and this page will be updated with every new release, budget and box office figure.

Check Also: dhurandhar movie review | ikkis movie review | thamma movie review | Suriya Filmography | vijay filmography | Rajinikanth Filmography

Dhanush Filmography FAQs