'Raanjhanaa': Zeeshan Ayyub shares how Dhanush overcame Hindi language challenges for Bollywood debut

Zeeshan Ayyub, who acted alongside Dhanush in his first Bollywood film 'Raanjhanaa', shared memories of how the Tamil actor mastered Hindi for the role. He revealed in an interview that the film’s writer played a key role in helping Dhanush practice his Hindi dialogues. Zeeshan also compared this experience to his work in the Tamil film industry, highlighting the cultural connection.

Here's what Zeeshan Ayyub said.


Dhanush’s unique skill in managing language barrier

When asked by Bollywood Bubbles if language is an important aspect while filming and how Dhanush managed shooting 'Raanjhanaa', Zeeshan responded by saying that Dhanush possesses a unique skill that goes beyond greatness. He explained that the performance Dhanush gave in 'Raanjhanaa' was exceptional. Drawing from his recent experience working on a Tamil film, Ayyub said he now understands this even better because he does not understand Tamil at all. While some people might know a few words or phrases like counting numbers, saying "I love you," or even some swear words, Zeeshan himself doesn’t know anything about the Tamil language.

Zeeshan Ayyub on memorizing sounds without understanding

The actor shared that when he worked on a film, he often didn’t understand anything and just memorized the sounds. This made things quite difficult. For example, phrases like “baat yeh hai ki” naturally came to him, but sometimes lines like “yeh ke hai” were tricky because he would often miss the exact sound. That’s what happened to him. Fortunately, there were good people around who would watch his lip movements and say, “Yes, yes, this can be dubbed, let’s move forward.” Dhanush, in a similar situation, had to sit late into the night memorizing his lines carefully.

Writer Himanshu Sharma’s role in coaching Dhanush

He said that Himanshu, the writer, would patiently record the lines and sit repeatedly with Dhanush. He would memorize the lines exactly as recorded, paying close attention to the tone because the Banaras dialect is somewhat unique. There is a sing-song pattern common everywhere, but Banaras has its own distinct style. Dhanush memorized this pattern, knowing where to place the stress and how to deliver it. At the same time, he was emoting naturally. It was very hard work and extremely challenging.

Zeeshan Ayyub’s reflection on the challenge

Concluding, Zeeshan said that after experiencing it himself, he now understands that it is on a different level. Sometimes, when you somewhat know a language, you can adjust and put in extra effort. But when you don’t know it at all, it’s a completely different challenge. He mentioned that Dhanush’s Hindi is much better now. They recently met, and it had been 12 years since 'Raanjhanaa'. Zeeshan told him, “Brother, immense respect, you have reached a whole different level!” To which Dhanush replied, “Yes, now I understand it a bit better, but back then I didn’t know at all, so I have no idea how I managed.”

About the film 'Raanjhanaa'

'Raanjhanaa', released in 2013, is a romantic drama helmed by director Aanand L. Rai and scripted by Himanshu Sharma. Produced by Krishika Lulla, the movie features Dhanush in his Bollywood debut alongside Sonam Kapoor, Abhay Deol, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, and Swara Bhaskar.