Doesn’t make sense to refer to me as a South actor, says Dhanush

During the press conference of his Hollywood movie The Gray Man, Dhanush was asked whether it was necessary to refer to his character in the film as a ‘sexy Tamil friend’ considering how he wants to be recognized as an Indian actor. 

“It’s not absolutely necessary but there is nothing wrong with it,” replied Dhanush. 

But the artiste did state that he doesn’t wish to be referred to as a ‘South actor’. “I would appreciate it if they call us Indian actors, rather than South actors or North actors,” he said. “The world has shrunk and the lines are fading. This is the time to come together and make it as one big industry. It’s a huge industry.” 

He added, “It will be great if we function together and make movies for everybody; not just for the South audience or North audience. Every film is a national film, not a regional film. People watch South films; we watch North films.” 

Dhanush feels that because of the OTT boom, the language barrier hardly exists anymore as people are exposed to content in various languages. 

“Now everybody has easy access to everybody’s work,” he said. “Talents are easily seen. It’s a great time to be an actor as well. If you do a good job, you are noticed by everybody. It just doesn’t make sense even now in these times to refer to me or anybody as a South actor. We are actors from India.” 

Directed by the Russo Brothers, The Gray Man is an action film where Dhanush plays the character of Avik San, who is an assassin. The film will be streamed on Netflix from 22 July.