Actor Dhanush and filmmaker Aishwarya Rajinikanth have filed for divorce. The duo got married in 2004 and announced their separation in 2022. Since then, they have been living separately. Now, the two have initiated divorce proceedings at the Chennai family court. Dhanush and Aishwarya applied for divorce by mutual consent under Section 13 B of the Hindu Marriage Act. Their petition is expected to be heard in court soon. Dhanush and Aishwarya, who lived together for 18 years, have two sons - Yatra and Linga. Here's a timeline of Dhanush and Aishwarya Rajinikanth's relationship:
First meeting
In a chat with Times Of India, Dhanush recalled the first time he met Aishwarya Rajinikanth. He said, "At the first day's show of my film Kadhal Kondaen, we as a family went to watch it. By the interval, we were all hugging each other as we knew it would be a hit. Once the film was over, I was about to leave when the cinema owner introduced me to Rajinikanth Sir's daughters Aishwarya and Soundarya. We just said hi to each other and left. The next day, Aishwarya sent me a bouquet saying, 'Good work. Keep in touch'. I just took that very seriously. She is two years older than me and we got married two years later after we met."
"I like her simplicity. If you think her father is simple, meet Aishwarya. She is 100 times simpler than her father. She treats everybody as an equal and can be friends with anybody. But I also like that she is extremely complicated. She is a good mother to my sons and is bringing them up extremely well," Dhanush added.
Marriage and children
Dhanush and Aishwarya Rajinikanth got married on 18 November 2004. Their marriage was a grand affair attended by who's who of the Indian film industry. The couple are also proud parents to two sons. They welcomed their firstborn Yatra in 2006, and their second son Longa was born in 2010.
During a press conference in 2013, Dhanush talked about how his wife is still not impressed with him, and it was easier to impress his father-in-law. He said, "It was very easy to impress Mr Rajinikanth because he loves the art, he really loved my film and he immediately connected with me. It is very easy to connect with him, just be a nice human being and you can impress him.”
“I am still trying to impress her (Aishwarya Rajinikanth) actually. She is still not impressed with me as I spend very little time with her. First impression on her was with my film only. She saw my film, she liked me and said 'I will marry you'. I said, 'I will also marry you',” Dhanush added.
Professional collaboration
Dhanush acted in Aishwarya Rajinikanth's directorial debut 3, in 2012. In the film, Dhanush played the role of Ram, a boy who falls in love with Janani (Shruti Haasan) and gets married to her. But, things take an unexpected turn when Ram dies by suicide. One track of the film, Why This Kolaveri Di? became immensely popular and made Dhanush a national sensation. Many consider the song to be India's first "viral" content.
Aishwarya Rajinikanth's "proud wife" post
In 2021, Dhanush won the National Film Award as best actor for his film Asuran. At the same award ceremony, Aishwarya Rajinikanth's father, Rajinikanth also received India's highest film honour, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, for his contribution to Indian cinema. To celebrate their big moment, Aishwarya posted a picture on Instagram, in which Dhanush and Rajinikanth were posing with their medals. The text attached to the post read, “They are mine … and this is history #prouddaughter #proudwife.”
Separation
On 17 January 2022, Dhanush and Aishwarya shared similar notes on X (formerly known as Twitter) to announce their separation. Dhanush's note read, “18 years of togetherness as friends, couple as parents and well-wishers to each other. The journey has been of growth, understanding, adjusting, and adapting. Today we stand at a place where our paths separate. Aishwarya and I have decided to part ways as a couple and take time to understand us as individuals for the better. Please do respect our decision and give us the needed privacy to deal with this. Om Namashivaaya!"
Aishwarya Rajinikanth made her directorial comeback last year with Lal Salaam. The film featured her father Rajinikanth in the lead role. Dhanush shared the trailer of the film on his X handle with the text, “Lal Salaam trailer Best wishes to the team. God bless. #superstar #thalaivar.”
After separating from Aishwarya Rajinikanth, Dhanush attended the Rock With Raaja concert by Ilaiyaraaja in Chennai with their sons Yatra and Linga. Click here to read all about it. On the work front, Dhanush was last seen in Captain Miller.