When the lean, lanky youngster made his debut in 2002 with Thullu atho Ilamai - a coming of age flick which was trashed by critics, yet turned out to be a box office success thanks to the music and a message in the end, not many thought he would sustain longer in the industry, and will vanish soon.

The 20 year old went on to collaborate with his brother Selvaraghavan for Kadhal Konden, which changed his fortune, as the movie became a massive blockbuster, strongly establishing the name Dhanush. From then on, it was no stopping him, as he became a hat-trick hero early in his career, and continued to score box office success constantly.

Failures, mediocre outings and few hits like Thiruvilaiyadal Aarambam arrived later, and then came an interesting phase and an important person in Dhanush's career, only next to Selvaraghavan - Vetrimaaran. Polladhavan from the duo was 2007 Diwali's dark horse, winning over biggies like Azhagiya Thamizh Magan and Vel, and gave birth to a reliable, mass combo.

With his knack of choosing interesting scripts and the ability to alternate between a content based flick like Aadukalam and a pucca commercial mass masala Venghai, Dhanush could easily transport between the two complicated roles in the film industry - Actor and Star. He could easily transform into any character - be it a crazily in love person with bipolar disorder in 3, a man fighting for survival, stuck in a dangerous zone miles away from his home in Maryan, a fun loving goon with a heart of gold in Maari, the quintessential Rajnistic mass hero of Velaiyilla Pattadhari, a father on a rampage to save his son in Asuran, Dhanush is a chameleon who can effortlessly deliver performances that'll etch characters in your memory.

From a reluctant actor pushed into acting by his father and brother, to someone who can choose the right project and the right maker to garner not just box office glory but also awards and accolades, Dhanush has mastered the art and has been constantly learning and innovating in every aspect of cinema. The national award winning actor has been rocking the musical arena as well with his singing and lyric writing skills, and also made a successful debut as a director with Pa Paandi, which was received well.

Having nurtured talents like Siva Karthikeyan, Anirudh, Vignesh Shivan and many others with his production house Wunderbar Films, Dhanush is still thirsty to make many more good projects in his own banner and is striving to be the crusader of quality cinema and helping deserving talents. The man's acting has given him recognition and rewards besides worldwide popularity that lead him reach not just Bollywood with Raanjhanaa and Shamitabh but also Hollywood with the Extraordinary journey of the Fakir.

With many exciting collaborations, old and new - Karthik Subbaraj's Jagame Thanthiram, Mari Selvaraj's Karnan, a project with Ramkumar, few projects with Vetrimaaran, Pudhupettai 2 with Selvaraghavan, Atrangi Re again in Bollywood with Aanand L Rai, the versatile Dhanush is all set to shine brighter and entertain with his interesting line-up of films and unique characters that make him shine brighter and a class apart from the rest of his contemporaries.

Wishing Dhanush, the unparalleled actor who has lived up to a line in one of his songs - "Opponentaa Aale illa solo aayiten", standing apart from the crowd and delivering quality entertainment in his own inimitable style, winning hearts and awards, a very happy birthday!!