Tamil star Dhanush recently made headlines by calling love “an overrated emotion,” a blunt admission that comes more than three years after his high-profile separation from filmmaker Aishwaryaa Rajinikanth. His words, shared in a recent interview, have reignited conversations about relationships, celebrity marriages and how personal beliefs evolve over time.
Dhanush, the versatile actor known for films like 3 — which was directed by his then-wife Aishwaryaa — and Jagame Thandhiram, did not mince his feelings. He argued that love often gets glorified far beyond its substance, suggesting that the idealized version of romance held up by society doesn’t match reality. According to reports, he described love as something people may cling to, even when it doesn’t serve them — a candid view that reflects his own life journey.
His statement gains further weight considering his nearly 18-year relationship with Aishwaryaa, the daughter of superstar Rajinikanth. The two married in 2004, shared two sons, and even collaborated professionally — most notably on the film 3, where Dhanush played the lead in a tragic love story. Their separation, announced in 2022, was framed respectfully in a joint message that spoke of growth, understanding, and the need to rediscover themselves as individuals.
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But now, Dhanush’s reassessment of love signals something deeper. He’s not just expressing disillusionment — he’s questioning the very currency of romantic emotion. In calling love “generic” and possibly overrated, he challenges the notion that love always leads to lasting happiness or meaningful commitment. It’s a dramatic shift from earlier public statements, in which he praised Aishwaryaa for her simplicity: “If you think her father is simple, meet Aishwaryaa. She is 100 times simpler than him,” he once said.
This change in tone reveals how life experiences — especially after a long marriage and a painful separation — can reshape one’s understanding of love. Dhanush is not alone in this reckoning. Aishwaryaa herself has spoken in past interviews about how her view of love has evolved. She once called it “a very generic emotion” that transcends any one person, explaining that her definition of love expanded as she grew older, including her love for her parents and children.
Critics may see Dhanush’s declaration as cynical, but for many it reflects a sobering maturity. He’s not romanticizing heartbreak; he’s asking whether love, as commonly portrayed, is worth the pedestal. For a public figure, such honesty also carries risks. It disrupts fan expectations, shakes the romantic myths that cinema feeds on, and invites scrutiny into how genuine a celebrity’s emotional world really is.
Dhanush’s stance also raises broader questions about the institution of marriage itself. Their divorce was handled with relative dignity in public, yet the legal proceedings highlighted something many couples experience privately: love isn’t always enough to anchor a lifelong partnership. His reevaluation of love now suggests that stability, personal growth, and individual evolution may matter as much — if not more — than sentimental ideals.
For fans and the wider public, this moment underlines how love stories in cinema do not always translate to real-life permanence. Despite the glossy on-screen romances that Dhanush has starred in, he now seems to believe that emotional investment is not simply about passion, but about self-respect and realism. In that sense, his comments feel less like cynicism and more like clarity.
At a time when social media and celebrity culture constantly celebrate love in its most superficial forms, a statement like Dhanush’s is both bold and unsettling. It forces us to confront how often people confuse idealised emotion for meaning, and how much pressure there is to maintain a romantic image.
Still, some may worry: does calling love overrated risk becoming a justification for emotional detachment? Others may argue it’s a call to stop romanticizing pain and to build relationships grounded in authenticity, not fantasy.
Regardless of how it’s received, Dhanush’s words are a reminder that personal growth often involves rethinking foundational beliefs. For an actor who has explored love in many cinematic hues — from obsessive longing to tragic despair — his most compelling character arc now plays out in real life.
In the end, his reflection might be less about rejecting love, and more about demanding a healthier, more honest version of it — one where love is neither overrated nor under-appreciated, but simply understood.