‘A chef, if not an actor’

Ahead of the release of ‘Shamitabh’, Dhanush lets us know of his preferences for food and films

February 02, 2015 06:39 pm | Updated 06:39 pm IST - Hyderabad

NEW DELHI 14/06/2013: Filmstar Dhanush,in New Delhi on Friday June 14,2013. Photo:Sandeep Saxena

NEW DELHI 14/06/2013: Filmstar Dhanush,in New Delhi on Friday June 14,2013. Photo:Sandeep Saxena

Compliment actor Dhanush on his looks and he duly credits his stylist. Compliment him on his ability to speak variations of Hindi (in the two Hindi films) and the actor breaks into peals of laughter, “I don’t know Hindi, so variations of the language is like Greek to me. Dialogues are given. I mug them up and go in front of the camera. Meanings of the lines are also given.”

In town to promote R. Balki’s Shamitabh , Dhanush says he feels he is a person on the run. “I have not had time to sit and introspect ever since I became an actor. I am running all the time. But unable to say where and when I would stop. Then again, why shouldn’t I run? Age is on my side and given the limitations of my looks and body type, I feel I should exploit the time when I have the advantage,” says Dhanush as he sips his overtly sweet fresh lime. When people accompanying him ask if the drink should be replaced, Dhanush refuses saying, “the ice will melt and dilute the sugar.”

The actor’s non-guarded and matter-of-factly speaking attitude is sure to attract any first-timer’s attention and that makes Dhanush a loved person in the industry. Had he not been acting, what would Dhanush be doing, given his non-hero looks? “Chef for sure. I love to cook and I experimented a lot with cooking as a child. I would always be planning to cook something for my father. I learnt simple things like omelette, fried rice and sandwich and most often I would make them and offer it to my father and wait for his approval. When he appreciated what I cooked, it would make me happy,” says Dhanush.

The Raanjhanaa actor, however, regrets he doesn’t find time to enter the kitchen now. “God had other plans for me. So I became an actor.”

So, would he play a chef in reel life? “Why not? That would be great. I love the art of cooking. Mixing ingredients, creating an aroma, chopping vegetables — everything about cooking entices me. I learnt to cook from my mother, she is a wonderful cook and that makes me a wonderful eater as well,” he laughs. “To make things better for me, my wife Aishwarya is also a wonderful cook and is brilliant with her dishes. My love for food makes it necessary for me to workout as well. I am a vegetarian, so I need to take care to supplement my body with protein,” says Dhanush who mostly prefers home cooked food and says Tamil cuisine has more than sambar rice and curd rice.

Shamitabh is slated for February 6 release and with it comes a few other releases of the actor. “I would have been happy if they were paced well and my movies released one after the other. That would have kept me in the news for a longer time, Now, it will all be over in a week,” laughs Dhanush. ( Anegan will release soon and Dhanush’s Tamil films released in Telugu as Raghuvaran B. tech and Pandem Kollu recently) But on a serious note, he says it is tiresome for the teams because it gets very hectic. But he isn’t complaining and can only be once grateful to God and his fans who aren’t tired of watching him on screen. “As an actor I cannot complain about the releases. It will be a testing time for me,” he smiles.

Talking about being in news, does he take gossip with a pinch of salt? “I don’t take it at all. In life there is a choice at any given time. I choose to ignore that which breeds negativity and opt for the positive ones.”

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