Dhanush says ‘Kuberaa’ took him back to his ‘humble, rooted beginnings’

The Tamil star is making his Telugu debut in director Sekhar Kammula’s sweeping social thriller, co-starring Nagarjuna and Rashmika Mandanna

Taking a break from the shoot of Tere Ishq Mein, where he reportedly plays an Air Force officer, Tamil star Dhanush dropped by to promote his upcoming release, Kuberaa, at a Mumbai multiplex on Tuesday (June 10).

In Kuberaa, Dhanush plays a beggar who ‘undergoes a dramatic transformation’. The gritty, sweeping film explores themes of greed, morality and ambition.

While Tere Ishq Mein will see Dhanush returning to Hindi cinema after four years, Kuberaa, co-starring Nagarjuna and Rashmika Mandanna, marks the Tamil actor’s first foray into Telugu cinema. Directed by Sekhar Kammula, the film is a trilingual social thriller shot simultaneously in Telugu, Hindi, and Tamil. The third song from the film’s album, ‘Pippi Pippi Dum Dum Dum’, was launched in the presence of Dhanush, Nagarjuna, Rashmika, Jim Sarbh, Dalip Tahil and others at PVR Juhu, Mumbai. The film’s music is composed by Devi Sri Prasad.

“This film is extremely close to my heart,” Dhanush said, calling the experience of shooting Kuberaa both ‘fantastic’ and ‘weird’, since it took him out of his comfort zone. “We shoot at dump yards and inside garbage trucks,” Dhanush shared. “As actors, we live very protected lives. We like to do what’s convenient. I come from very humble, rooted beginnings. So to go back and see that world again was both enlightening and nostalgic.”

Praising his director, Sekhar Kammula, Dhanush recalled assenting to Kuberaa over a 20-minute narration. “I loved his energy, his positivity and his honesty towards making this film.”

Rashmika said Dhanush aces all kinds of roles in the most effortless fashion. “He inspires us to work a hundred times extra to be 10 percent as good as him.”

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