South star Dhanush spills the beans on his marriage, Bollywood debut 'Raanjhanaa' and more...

Till a few months back, most Hindi film buffs knew Dhanush as the actor from the South who sang the quirky yet catchy Kolaveri Di. But with his Bollywood debut, Rajnikanth's son-in-law seems to have impressed the harshest of critics. A fast-five with the actor:

You are not the conventionally good-looking actor in Bollywood.
It doesn't matter how you look, or how slim or tall you are. Everything depends on the character that you play. I do films that suit my age, looks and physique. Yes, but if I play a boxer or a wrestler, then questions about my looks could arise. Thanks to my looks, it was easy for me to play a 16-year-old. I didn't choose Bollywood, the script came to me.


Your mother tongue is Tamil. Was it tough dubbing for your lines in Hindi?
I'm not comfortable at all with Hindi. But I had great help from writer Himanshu Sharma and my director Aanand L Rai, who insisted that I do my own dubbing. But I was never in two minds about whether I should do a Bollywood film. It's all in your head. But with four to five films a year, it was difficult to move my dates around for the film.


There was buzz about how you tried to emulate Rajnikanth in the film. (A scene from the film has him mimicking catching a bullet by his teeth)
No, I don't think so. I played just a guy who wanted to look macho in front of his girl.

Are you as romantic in real-life too?
If romance had a scale from 1 to 10, it would be just my films. After that, come my sons. I am a very bad husband. My wife has to adjust with that. After working for 13 years, you forget what kind of person you are.


Tell us about your secret mantra in life.
It's actually, Rhonda Byrne's book The Secret. It's all about having positive thoughts and it has helped me immensely.