By Grace Cyril,News18

Copyright news18

Actor and filmmaker Dhanush recently addressed scepticism surrounding a childhood story he shared, in which he claimed to have sold flowers to earn pocket money for idlis. The tale, recounted at the audio launch of his upcoming film Idli Kadai in Chennai, raised eyebrows, with some people questioning how he could have struggled financially despite being the son of filmmaker Kasthuri Raja.
At a recent event, Dhanush clarified the context behind the story, explaining that his family’s finances were tight during his early years. “I was born in 1983, before my father made his first movie in 1991 (En Rasavin Manasile). He has four kids, and the budget at home was always tight. Educating us was the top priority, and we had to work for our pocket money. It was only around 1995 that we became stable financially and had a good lifestyle,” he said.
Kasthuri Raja later expanded his career in cinema by turning producer in 1996 with Nattupura Pattu, a film he also directed. More recently, he backed his son’s directorial project Nilavuku En Mel Ennadi Kobam, featuring Dhanush’s nephew Pavish in the lead role.
During the audio launch of Idli Kadai, Dhanush had shared that he often longed for idlis as a child but could not afford them. “As a kid, I always craved idlis every single day, but I couldn’t afford them. Hence, we started collecting flowers from the neighbourhood. The money we get will be based on the amount of flowers we collect every day. My sister, cousins and I would wake up at 4 AM to do this for over two hours,” he said.
He added that the group earned about Rs 2 for their effort, which they used to buy idlis. The anecdote quickly went viral, but many questioned its authenticity due to his father’s position in the film industry at the time.
Meanwhile, Idli Kadai marks Dhanush’s fourth outing as a director after Pa Paandi, Raayan, and Nilavukku Enmel Ennadi Kobam. Along with directing and producing the film under his banner Wunderbar Studio in association with Aakash Bhaskaran’s Dawn Pictures, Dhanush also plays the lead role.
The film features an ensemble cast including Nithya Menen, Shalini Pandey, Arun Vijay, Rajkiran, Sathyaraj, Samuthirakani, and Parthiban. Music for the project has been composed by GV Prakash. Idli Kadai is slated to hit theatres on October 1.