Aishwarya Rajinikanth

Aishwarya Rajinikanth (born 1 January 1982 ) is an Indian film director and playback singer who works in Tamil films. She is the elder daughter of actor Rajinikanth and singer Latha Rajinikanth and also the former wife of actor Dhanush. She made her feature film directorial debut with 3 (2012).

Early life
Aishwarya was born to actor Rajinikanth and singer Latha Rangachari. She has a younger sister, Soundarya, who works in the Tamil film industry as well.

Career
Aishwarya began her career in the Tamil film industry as a playback singer in the unreleased film Ramanaa, directed by Parthy Bhaskar. The song was composed by Deva in November 2000. Her first song to be released was "Natpe Natpe" from D. Imman's soundtrack for Whistle (2003), which she sang alongside the composer and actor Silambarasan.

In August 2011, she announced that she would direct her husband, Dhanush, and Shruti Haasan in her first feature film titled 3. The film was highly anticipated prior to its release, after the song "Why This Kolaveri Di" from its soundtrack went viral and became an internet phenomenon. The song was composed by her cousin Anirudh Ravichander. 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's dance competition Jodi Number One in its third season alongside actors Sangeetha and Jeeva. She became a playback singer with the film Whistle alongside Silambarasan, 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 organization.

Criticism
In March 2017, Aishwarya performed Bharatanatyam at the UN headquarters on International Women's Day. However, her performance was criticised on social media by professional Bharatanatyam dancers. Popular Indian dancer Anita Ratnam wrote on Aishwarya's Facebook, "This is what Bharatanatyam becomes... A caricature and a farce!".

Personal life
Aishwarya was married to actor Dhanush with whom she has two sons, Yatra Raja, their elder son, was born on 10 October 2006, while their younger son, Linga Raja, was born on 21 June 2010. The couple announced their separation through their respective social media handles on 17 January 2022. In April 2024, they filed for divorce.

In December 2016, Aishwarya Rajinikanth released her own memoir Standing on An Apple Box: The Story of A Girl Among the Stars. 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.