Aishwarya Rajinikanth (born 1 January 1982) is an Indian film director and playback singer who works in

Tamil cinema Tamil cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Tamil language, the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the names Kodambakkam, a Ch ...

. She is the elder daughter of actor

Rajinikanth Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 170 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, ...

and playback singer Latha Rajinikanth and also the former wife of actor

Dhanush Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja (born 28 July 1983), known professionally as Dhanush, is an Indian actor, filmmaker, lyricist and playback singer who primarily works in Tamil cinema. Having starred in Dhanush filmography, 50 films over his car ...

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

Early life

Aishwarya was born to actor

and singer Latha Rangachari. She has a younger sister,

Soundarya Sowmya Sathyanarayana (18 July 1972 – 17 April 2004), better known by her stage name Soundarya, was an Indian actress known for her works primarily in Telugu cinema. She was regarded as one of the greatest actresses in the history of Telugu ...

, who works in the

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

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

as well.

Career

Aishwarya began her career in the

Tamil film industry Tamil cinema is the segment of cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to the production of Film, motion pictures in the Tamil language, the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the nam ...

as a playback singer in the unreleased film ''Ramanaa'', directed by Parthy Bhaskar. The song was composed by

Deva Deva may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Deva, List of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition monsters, an ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 2nd edition monster * Deva, in the 2023 Indian film ''Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefir ...

in November 2000. Her first song to be released was "Natpe Natpe" from D. Imman's soundtrack for ''

Whistle A whistle is a musical instrument which produces sound from a stream of gas, most commonly air. It is a type of Fipple, fipple flute, and may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means. Whistles vary in size from a s ...

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

Silambarasan Silambarasan Thesingu Rajendar (born 3 February 1984), popularly known as Simbu or by his initials as STR, is an Indian actor, producer, and playback singer who primarily works in Tamil cinema. He is the eldest son of director T. Rajendar. ...

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

Shruti Haasan Shruti Haasan (born 28 January 1986) is an Indian actress and singer who predominantly works in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films. One of the highest paid actresses in South Indian cinema, Haasan is the recipient of various accolades, including t ...

in her first feature film titled '' 3''. 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. The song was of ...

" from its soundtrack went viral and became an

internet phenomenon Internet phenomena are social and cultural phenomena specific to the Internet, such as Internet memes, which include popular catchphrases, images, viral videos, and jokes. When such fads and sensations occur online, they tend to grow rapidly ...

. The song was composed by her cousin

Anirudh Ravichander Anirudh Ravichander (born 16 October 1990), also credited mononymously as Anirudh, is an Indian composer and playback singer who works primarily in Tamil cinema, in addition to Telugu and Hindi films. He has won two Filmfare Awards South, ten ...

. 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 JioStar, a joint venture between Viacom18 and Disney India. The channel telecasts programmes such as serials, reality shows & Tamil films. History T ...

's dance competition '' Jodi Number One'' in its third season alongside actors Sangeetha and Jeeva. She became a

playback singer A playback singer, as they are usually known in South Asian cinema, or ghost singer in Western cinema, is a singer whose performance is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and the performers lip-sync the ...

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 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 charged with working for gender equality and the empowerment of women. UN Women is charged with advocating for the righ ...

organization.

Dance criticism

In March 2017, Aishwarya performed

Bharatanatyam ''Bharatanatyam'' is a Indian classical dance form that came from Tamil Nadu, India. It is a classical dance form recognized by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas of Hinduism and Jainism.< ...

, a style of

Indian classical dance Indian classical dance, or ''Shastriya Nritya'', is an umbrella term for different regionally-specific Indian classical dance traditions, rooted in predominantly Hindu musical theatre performance,, Quote: All of the dances considered to be part ...

, at the UN headquarters on

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8 March, commemorating women's fight for equality and liberation along with the women's rights movement. International Women's Day gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive righ ...

. Her performance was criticized on social media by professional Bharatanatyam dancers, with popular Indian dancer

Anita Ratnam Anita Ratnam (born 21 May 1954) is an Indian Indian classical dance, classical and contemporary dancer and choreographer. Classically trained in Bharat Natyam, she has also received formal training in Kathakali, Mohiniattam, and tai chi and Kala ...

writing on Aishwarya's Facebook that "This is what Bharatanatyam becomes... A caricature and a farce!".

Personal life

Aishwarya was married to actor

with whom she has two sons, born in 2006 and 2010. The couple announced their separation through their respective social media handles on 17 January 2022. In April 2024, they filed for divorce, which was finalised that November. 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

References

External links

* {{authority control 1982 births Living people Indian women film directors Television personalities from Tamil Nadu Film directors from Chennai Recipients of the Kalaimamani Award 21st-century Indian people 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 Rajinikanth