Sir actor Dhanush: 'I feel so stupid that I only know Tamil'

Actor Dhanush felt humbled at the pre-release event of his maiden Telugu film Sir, Vaathi in Tamil. The event took place on Sunday in Hyderabad. And Dhanush tried to convey his thoughts in Telugu as much as he could. But, he had no qualms admitting to his shortcomings. Dhanush acts in multiple languages but he isn't fluent in other Indian languages, except for his mother tongue Tamil. 

"Everyone on this stage speaks all languages, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and English. I feel so stupid that I only know Tamil. I thought Samuthirakani sir is there for the company as he also doesn't know Telugu. But, he spoke very good Telugu here. I asked him whether he would become fluent in Hindi by the next time I meet him. Samuthirakani sir is becoming famous in every language," Dhanush said. 

Filmmaker Trivikram Srinivas, who also supervised the production of Sir/Vaathi, noted that Samuthirakani can even read and write Telugu. "Do you still remember Tamil?," Dhanush jokingly asked Samuthirakani. 

Dhanush has expanded his footprint as a star beyond the Tamil film industry. He has played the lead in three Hindi films so far and has two English films to his credit: The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir and The Gray Man. 

Sir is his first straight Telugu movie. And he said he's about "happy and nervous" about it. "When my first film was released in 2002, I was nervous and now in 2023 for my first Telugu film release, I am more nervous. Every film feels like my first film," he added. 

In an effort to set the right expectations for the film, Dhanush informed the audience that Sir is a very grounded film. "Sir is a simple film, a simple film language with grand emotions. Simple acting, a simple story but a grand message. It's won't be preachy and it will be very entertaining," he promised. 

"We have done a simple meaningful film. I know it will connect with all of you. Because people generally like 'their' story. This film is your story," he added. 

Sir was simultaneously shot in Telugu and Tamil. Written and directed by Venky Atluri, the film has Samyuktha as the female lead. And it also stars Samuthirakani, P. Sai Kumar and Tanikella Bharani in the supporting roles. The film is due in Tamil and Telugu on February 17.