Western audience wonders ‘who is Dhanush’ as actor’s fans flood comments sections of The Gray Man posts

The first look of Russo Brothers’ upcoming Netflix film The Gray Man was revealed on Tuesday. Even as the film stars Chris Evans, Ryan Gosling, and Ana de Armas, Indian fans were more focussed on the look reveal for Dhanush, who is playing a small but significant part in the action thriller. While Indian publications and even the social media of Netflix India did post Dhanush’s first look, western publications and pages focussed on the Hollywood biggies. This led to Dhanush’s fans flooding the comments section of these posts, with Hollywood fans puzzled as to who Dhanush is and why there is such a craze for him. Also read: Dhanush is ready to rub shoulders with Chris Evans, Ryan Gosling; first look revealed from Russo Brothers’ The Gray Man

The first look of the film was first revealed by Entertainment Weekly, with the publication posting the looks of Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans. After Netflix also revealed other actors’ looks, accounts like The Hollywood Reporter and Rotten Tomatoes posted pictures of Ana de Armas and Regé-Jean Page as well. This led to Dhanush fans commenting on these and other similar posts. “Would it have killed you to include Dhanush,” read one comment. Another fan wrote, “All these are good but Dhanush steals the show.”

While Dhanush is a huge star in India, his popularity isn’t that mainstream in the West and fans there were naturally puzzled to see the craze for the actor. One fan commented on one such post, “Who is Dhanush and why is everybody going crazy over him?” Another comment on a different post by a British fan read, “Going by the comments, you’d assume Dhanush was the star of the film.” Many other fans mentioned in comments that they had to google who Dhanush is after seeing the deluge of comments about him. Indian fans not only educated their Western counterparts about Dhanush’s stardom but some even left movie recommendations for them from Dhanush’s filmography.

The Gray Man boasts of a strong ensemble cast and Dhanush wasn’t the only big name whose first look was omitted by the western publications. Actors like Jessica Henwick and Wagner Moura–both of whom are popular in the West–also didn’t find their first looks in posts from Wwestern publications. Many argued this was because the makers want to focus on the leads and these actors most likely have small parts in the film.

The Gray Man is based on the 2009 novel of the same name, written by Mark Greaney. The film is the first of a planned new franchise with Ryan and Chris in the lead roles. The Gray Man tracks how CIA mercenary Court Gentry (Ryan Gosling) and his unhinged former colleague Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans) come face-to-face, setting off a global manhunt by international assassins.

The film, directed by the Russo brothers, is set to release on Netflix on July 22 after a limited theatrical release in the US a week prior. With a budget of $200 million, it is the most expensive Netflix film to date.