Will bilingual film Thodari be Dhanush's much-needed hit for 2016?

Dhanush’s bilingual film Thodari released on Thursday and it has been garnering a lot of positive reviews on social media. [caption id=“attachment_2605030” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Dhanush. Getty Images.[/caption] Though known to be a great actor, who has rarely shied away from playing off-beat and challenging roles in his films, Dhanush is not really having a good streak at the box office. Out of the four releases he had last year, only his Anegan had a splendid reception. The other films, Vai Raja Vai, Maari and Thanga Magan, failed to get the response that Dhanush would get a few years back with films like Padikkadavan, Mappillai, etc. While 2015 for Dhanush was packed with back-to-back releases, Thodari is the first release of 2016. Even his last Hindi film Shamitabh, where he worked with Amitabh Bachchan, failed to create magic at the box office. Directed by Prabhu Solomon, Thodari will have Dhanush playing the role of a railway pantry worker who falls in love with a film make up artist. The film has been completely shot in a train, a Chennai-Delhi bound express, and it features stunts shot atop moving train. The fact that Prabhu Solomon chose Dhanush for his film shows that the actor still remains to be one of the most bankable names. Solomon is known to take lesser known actors or debutantes in his films. Yet he chose Dhanush for this adventurous project. In an interview to The Hindu, the write-director explained his decision, “Thodari demanded a simple young man, who could slide into the role convincingly, and also be a sound name from the business angle. Dhanush fitted the bill." With the film’s release as Rail in Telugu, it also marks Dhanush’s presence in Telugu films. This is a significant development coming at a time when South Indian actors, irrespective of their fame in a particular industry, are trying their luck in different languages.   Thodari is inspired from a real-life train journey. “In 1991, soon after I graduated, I hopped onto a train to Ghaziabad from Neyveli for my first job. It was my first train journey, and it lasted two days and one night. Everything that I experienced during the course of this trip inspired me to make this film,” Solomon had told IANS.