Dhanush reveals why he almost rejected ‘Raanjhanaa’; Aanand L Rai invested his own money; ‘He saw kundan in me and took a risk’ | Hindi Movie News

More than a decade after ‘Raanjhanaa’ first hit the screens, Dhanush is revisiting the film that marked his Hindi film debut. Speaking at a fan screening celebrating 12 years of the film, the Tamil star opened up about how close he came to walking away from the project. Reason? Budget constraints. Despite being a successful actor in Tamil cinema, the team behind R’aanjhanaa’ couldn’t afford Dhanush’s fee at the time. “They didn’t have the right kind of budget for hiring me as the lead actor,” he recalled. But director Aanand L Rai wasn’t ready to let go. He saw something in Dhanush that he wasn’t willing to compromise on—and that belief changed everything.

Aanand L Rai took the leap

Dhanush revealed that Rai didn’t just push for him—he personally put money on the line to bring him on board. “This man’s passion was so strong… he could have offered any actor this part and they would’ve taken it. But he stayed true to his vision,” Dhanush said, remembering how Rai went against all odds. “He invested his own money as well. He went all out to cast me.” For Dhanush, the part of Kundan—a hopeless romantic turned political crusader—was one of the most intense journeys he had taken on screen. But that journey began with someone else’s faith.

I was not scared during my first film

Even for someone with Dhanush’s experience, ‘Raanjhanaa’ brought with it a kind of vulnerability. “I was not scared during my first film. But for the first time, I was scared. I felt responsible. I was praying hard—‘Somehow save this man’,” he shared, referring to Rai. That fear transformed into something powerful, as Raanjhanaa went on to become a cult classic. “It’s not the story of Kundan and Zoya. It is the story of two mad men who believed in this,” he said. The film, also starring Sonam Kapoor, Abhay Deol, and Swara Bhaskar, became a turning point for both Dhanush and Aanand L Rai.