Aishwarya Rajinikanth (born 1 January 1982) is an Indian film director and

playback singer A playback singer, also known as a ghost singer, is a singer whose singing is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras; the actual singer does not app ...

who works in

Tamil cinema Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywood' ...

. She is the elder daughter of actor

Rajinikanth Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 160 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannad ...

and wife of actor

Dhanush Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja (born 28 July 1983), known professionally as Dhanush, is an Indian actor, producer, director, lyricist and playback singer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Starring in 46 films over his career, among hi ...

. She made her feature film directorial debut with '' 3'' (2012) starring Dhanush and

Shruti Haasan Shruti Haasan (born 28 January 1986) is an Indian actress and playback singer who works predominantly in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films. Born in the Haasan family, she is the daughter of actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan and actress Sarika Thakur. ...

in the lead.

Early life

Aishwarya was born to actor

and Latha Rangachari. She has a younger sister,

Soundarya K. S. Sowmya (18 July 1972 – 17 April 2004), better known by her stage name Soundarya, was an Indian actress who worked predominantly in Telugu_cinema, Telugu films and has also worked in Kannada, Tamil language, Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam f ...

, who works in the

Kollywood Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywood' ...

film industry The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, post ...

as well.

Career

Aishwarya began her career in the Tamil film industry as a playback singer in the unreleased film ''Ramanaa'', directed by Parthy Bhaskar. The song was composed by

Deva Deva may refer to: Entertainment * ''Deva'' (1989 film), a 1989 Kannada film * ''Deva'' (1995 film), a 1995 Tamil film * ''Deva'' (2002 film), a 2002 Bengali film * Deva (2007 Telugu film) * ''Deva'' (2017 film), a 2017 Marathi film * Deva ...

in November 2000. Her first song to be released was "Natpe Natpe" from

D. Imman Immanuel Vasanth Dinakaran (born 24 January 1983), better known as D. Imman, is an Indian film composer and singer, predominantly working in Tamil cinema. Also worked in Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, and Hindi film industry. His first film as mu ...

's soundtrack for ''

Whistle A whistle is an instrument which produces sound from a stream of gas, most commonly air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means. Whistles vary in size from a small slide whistle or nose flute type to a larg ...

'' (2003), which she sung alongside the composer and actor

Silambarasan Silambarasan Thesingu Rajendar, nicknamed as Simbu or his initials S. T. R., is an Indian actor, filmmaker and musician in Tamil cinema. He began his acting career by playing roles as a child artist in films directed by his father T. Rajendar, b ...

. In August 2011, she announced that she would direct her then-husband, Dhanush, and

in her first feature film titled '' 3''. Dhanush later clarified that this would be his only film under his wife's direction. The film was highly anticipated prior to its release, after the song "

Why This Kolaveri Di 'Why This Kolaveri Di' () is a song from the soundtrack of the 2012 Tamil psychological thriller film '' 3'', starring Dhanush and Shruthi Hassan. The song is written and sung by Dhanush, and composed by Anirudh Ravichander. It became one of ...

" from its soundtrack went viral and became an

internet phenomenon An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...

. The song was composed by her cousin

Anirudh Ravichander Anirudh Ravichander (born 16 October 1990), also known Mononymous person, mononymously as Anirudh, is an Indian film scorer music composer music producer singer and instrumentalist who primarily works in Tamil films. He is the son of actor Ra ...

. She appeared alongside the lead cast and composer in the making of the video. In July 2015, Aishwarya announced she will soon launch a YouTube channel under the banner of "Ten Entertainment" to exclusively promote original content and short films by aspiring filmmakers. She was a judge on

STAR Vijay Star Vijay is an Indian Tamil language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star (formerly Star India), a subsidiary of Asianet Star Communications. The channel's headquarters is in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Star Vijay change ...

's dance competition ''

Jodi Number One ''Jodi Number One'' is an Indian Tamil-language dance competition reality television show broadcast on Star Vijay and from the year 2006. Its contestants are couples who are generally television stars in their own right, often from the televi ...

'' in its third season alongside actors Sangeetha and Jeeva. She became a

with the film ''

'' alongside

, which was then followed by the song "Un Mela Aasadhan" in the film '' Aayirathil Oruvan'', for which she also worked as an assistant director. In August 2016, Aishwarya was selected as India's

goodwill ambassador Goodwill ambassador is a post-nominal honorific title, a professional occupation and/or authoritative designation that is assigned to a person who advocates for a specific cause or global issue on the basis of their notability such as a public ...

for the

UN Women The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, is a United Nations entity working for gender equality and the empowerment of women. UN Women advocates for the rights of women and girls, and focu ...

organization.

Criticism

She performed Bharatanatyam at the UN headquarters on International Women's Day. However, her performance was criticised on social media by professional Bharatanatyam dancers. Popular Indian dancer

Anita Ratnam Anita Ratnam (born 21 May 1954) is an Indian classical and contemporary dancer and choreographer. Classically trained in Bharat Natyam, she has also received formal training in Kathakali, Mohiniattam, and T'ai chi and Kalarippayattu, thus crea ...

wrote on Aishwarya's Facebook, "This is what bharatanatyam becomes... A caricature and a farce!".

Personal life

Aishwarya was married to actor

with whom she has two sons, Yatra (born 2006) and Linga (born 2010).Dhanush's son named Linga – Tamil Movie News
Indiaglitz.com (2 July 2010). Retrieved 10 April 2013. The couple announced their separation through their respective social media handles on 17 January 2022. In December 2016, Aishwarya Rajinikanth released her own memoir ''Standing on An Apple Box: The Story of A Girl Among the Stars.''"Standing on An Apple Box: The Story of A Girl Among the Stars"
by Aishwarya R. Dhanush With this book, she has revealed her own story of being a celebrity kid, making her career choices, her marriage and her life as Rajinikanth’s daughter.

Filmography

As director

As singer

As dubbing artist

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dhanush, Aishwarya R 1982 births Living people Indian women film directors Television personalities from Tamil Nadu Tamil film directors Film directors from Chennai Recipients of the Kalaimamani Award 21st-century Indian film directors Indian female classical dancers Performers of Indian classical dance Dancers from Tamil Nadu 21st-century Indian dancers Tamil playback singers Women artists from Tamil Nadu 21st-century Indian women artists