Actor Dhanush and filmmaker Aishwaryaa Rajinikanth have decided to part ways as husband and wife after 18 years of marriage.
In a joint statement issued on Monday, Dhanush and Aishwaryaa said, “18 years of togetherness as friends, couple, as parents and well wishers to each other. The journey has been of growth, understanding, adjusting and adapting. Today we stand at a place where our paths separate… Aishwaryaa/Dhanush and I have decided to part ways as a couple and take time to understand us as individuals for the better.”
Aishwaryaa, who is actor Rajinikanth’s elder daughter, married Dhanush, director Kasthuri Raja’s younger son, in an opulent ceremony on November 18, 2004. They have two sons, Yatra and Linga.
Professionally, Aishwaryaa and Dhanush collaborated on the former’s directorial debut 3, a psychological romantic drama in 2012, in which the actor played the lead alongside Shruti Haasan. The film shot to fame after the song Why This Kolaveri Di, sung by Dhanush, became a worldwide hit.
Both Dhanush and Aishwaryaa have collaborated with each other’s family members during the course of their careers. Dhanush has frequently worked with music composer Anirudh Ravichander, who is Aishwaryaa’s cousin, and has worked under her sister and filmmaker Soundarya Rajinikanth’s direction in Velaiilla Pattadhari 2 (2017). Aishwaryaa, on the other hand, sung the song Un Mela Aasadhaan along with Dhanush and Andrea Jeremiah for the film Aayirathil Oruvan (2010), helmed by Dhanush’s brother Selvaraghavan.
The duo have requested the media and fans to give them privacy and to respect their decision.
Recommended
Dhanush, who was last seen in the Hindi film Atrangi Re, has several projects lined up, including Maaran with director Karthick Naren; the Tamil-Telugu bilingual Vaathi/Sir; Netflix’s The Gray Man, directed by the Russo Brothers; a second project with Karnan director Mari Selvaraj; the sequel to Aayirathil Oruvan with Selvaraghavan; and Thiruchitrambalam for Sun Pictures.
Aishwaryaa, meanwhile, will be directing a bilingual thriller for Lyca Productions.