‘Not knowing Tamil is not to be proud of’: Dhanush addresses students in his alma mater

Dhanush began by talking about his own relationship with language as a student. He said he struggled with English as a child but was always comfortable in Tamil. What concerns him now, he said, is that the equation has flipped for the current generation.

“When I was studying here, I was bad at English and couldn’t speak it well. But I was fluent in Tamil,” Dhanush said. “That has changed now. When I meet people today, eight out of ten people don’t know how to read and write Tamil properly, but they are very good at English. That is a very disheartening situation.”

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He then shared a story from a film shoot in Belgium that reshaped how he thinks about language. Dhanush was working on a French production, and when the crew asked him if he spoke English, he said yes. Their reaction surprised him.

“When I said yes, they were very surprised. Usually, people embarrass you for not knowing English, but they were surprised when I said I knew it,” Dhanush recalled. “When I asked why, they responded, you should know your mother tongue well. English is a bonus, right? That is how they perceive language.”

He used the anecdote to make a direct appeal to the students in the audience. “One should learn their mother tongue first. They should learn to read and write it first,” he said. “Saying you don’t know Tamil is not something to be proud of. Not knowing your mother tongue is actually shameful. Please give importance to your mother tongue. Please focus on Tamil as well.”

Dhanush also encouraged the students to dream about giving back to the institution the way he has. “For all the students gathered here, this campus must expand further, and there must be as many buildings in the school with your names on them as well,” he said. “Definitely, my friends and I will come back to see and enjoy the school and its students flourishing. I’m sure you will give me that experience. Study well and live well.”

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Cinematographer Kumaran, who shot Dhanush’s blockbuster Velaiilla Pattadhari and was the actor’s classmate at the same school, spoke about how the contribution came about. He said Dhanush had asked about the condition of the school’s infrastructure before deciding to finance the new building. Kumaran added that Dhanush has also expressed interest in renovating other ageing structures on the campus and constructing additional buildings in the available space. “Dhanush’s gesture has truly touched our hearts,” Kumaran said, adding that the contribution would benefit generations of students to come.

Dhanush studied at Thaai Sathya Matriculation School from LKG through Class 10 before completing his higher secondary education elsewhere. He made his acting debut in 2002 with Thulluvadho Ilamai, directed by his father Kasturi Raja, and has since built one of the most acclaimed careers in Indian cinema with films like Aadukalam, which won him the National Award for Best Actor, Vada Chennai, Asuran and Karnan.

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On the work front, Dhanush is currently filming Om: Chapter 1 and will next begin D56 with director Tamilarasan Pachamuthu. He is also set to reunite with Karnan director Mari Selvaraj for a new project featuring music by A.R. Rahman. Additionally, the long-awaited next collaboration between Dhanush and Vetri Maaran, titled Thamizh Murugan, is also in the pipeline.