3 min readHyderabadApr 26, 2026 11:07 AM IST
Dhanush is not the kind of actor who gives motivational speeches easily. But at the pre-release event for his upcoming film Kara on Saturday , he said something with an unusual weight, because it was backed by a career that actually proves the point he was trying to make.
At the event, Dhanush began his speech with a Tamil phrase rooted in ancient text. “Ennam Pol Vazhkai,” he said, explaining that it comes from the Bhagavad Gita and translates simply to: what you think, you become. He used it to walk the room through something personal. Around 2002, when he had just entered the film industry with his debut Thulluvadho Ilamai, directed by his father Kasthuri Raja, Dhanush said he had already told himself he would win a National Award.
“All could have laughed,” he said, acknowledging how the claim would have sounded at the time as he was a newcomer. There was no visible path to that kind of recognition. But he kept the belief to himself and worked. “I strongly manifested that I won the National Award and the time has come,” he said.
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Dhanush’s role as a rooster fight jockey in Aadukalam won him the National Film Award for Best Actor, roughly nine years after his debut. The film won six awards at the 58th National Film Awards, including Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Actor. He did not stop there. Dhanush won his second National Film Award for Best Actor for Asuran in 2019. He has won four National Film Awards in total across acting and production.
Dhanush has spoken about this idea before, telling youngsters at another event that manifestation means starting to believe you are already where you want to be, and then working hard to get there.
But before any of that, there was Polladhavan. Dhanush spoke about the 2007 Vetrimaaran film with a warmth that made clear it holds a specific place in his memory. “Polladhavan was one of the career changing films for me,” he said. The reason he gave was not about box office numbers or critical reception. It was more personal than that.
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For years before Polladhavan, Dhanush said he had been body shamed for being skinny. Then came a shirtless scene in Polladhavan, and for the first time, the crowd responded differently. There were claps. There were whistles. Not for a punch or a dialogue but for him, physically, on screen. “It was a special film for me,” he said.
Dhanush’s upcoming film Kara is set against the backdrop of the 1991 fuel crisis and promises an intense, character-driven movie. Also featuring Mamitha Baiju, Jayaram, Suraj Venjaramoodu, KS Ravikumar, and Karunaas, it is scheduled to release worldwide on April 30.
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