Dhanush and Aishwaryaa, Rajinikanth’s daughter, announced their separation last night (January 17). In a joint statement, the estranged couple shared that they have decided to part ways and get to know their individual selves better. The announcement came as a shocker for their fans, who are now recalling the couple’s happy times together, speaking of which, do you know that Dhanush and Aishwaryaa actually met for the first time during the screening of a film? 

Dhanush met Aishwaryaa at the screening of his 2003 release Kadhal Kondein. Aishwaryaa was introduced to Dhanush as Rajinikanth’s daughter, along with her sister Soundarya. After meeting Dhanush, Aishwaryaa sent him a bouquet of flowers and wished him luck for his film. Dhanush had later spoken about this interaction in an interview.

“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’s daughters, Aishwaryaa and Soundarya. The next day, Aishwaryaa sent me a bouquet saying, ‘Good work. Keep in touch’, and right after two years of that meeting, we got married,” Dhanush told TOI. 

Dhanush and Aishwaryaa got married in 2004 in November and the wedding was attended by the who’s who of the Tamil film industry. The couple was blessed with their first child Yatra in 2006 and son Linga in 2012. They have been doting parents to the two boys and will continue to do so even as they part ways. 

Coming to their separation, Dhanush said: “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… Aishwaryaa and I have decided to part ways as a couple and take time to understand us as individuals for the better,” while urging fans to give the estranged couple privacy. 

After Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu’s split, Dhanush and Aishwaryaa’s separation has left fans disappointed.