Dhanush’s highly-anticipated directorial Idli Kadai opened to an overwhelming response on Wednesday, with fans hailing it as the kind of breezy, feel-good entertainer Tamil cinema needed.

Idli Kadai marks Dhanush’s 52nd film as an actor and his fourth as a director. Produced by Baskaran’s Dawn Pictures and Dhanush’s home banner Wunderbar Films, the film features Nithya Menen, Arun Vijay, Shalini Pandey, Prakash Raj, P. Samuthirakani and Rajkiran in key roles.

“A fantastic light hearted movie which we missed in Tamil cinema for long time. Nice first half following with heart melting second half. 'D' what a writing man. I controlled my tears in the climax but I failed,” wrote a fan on X.

Some fans also hailed the film as a “blockbuster” on social media.

An X user highlighted the emotionally-charged storytelling of the film. “Without tears, you cannot come out from the theatre,” they shared.

Disagreeing with the majority of the audience, who heaped praise on the emotional aspect of the film, a viewer tweeted, “No emotion connect, easily predictable story, mega serial like making.. better skip Idli Kadai.”

Further criticising the movie’s emotional core, an X user posted, “Decent emotional drama about the bond of a father and son and the legacy of Idli Kadai. Good perf from everyone but the film lacked interesting scenes because of an outdated villain. Decent watch. Dhanush yet again shines.”

A fan said Idli Kadai is a “perfect story” for the current generation, lauding Dhanush and Rajkiran’s collaboration in the film. “Dhanush and Rajkiran sir combo always hit combo. Just watched Idli Kadai by Dhanush sir. What a perfect story for this generation and everything you expect in one film. Totally loved it. No regrets…Big Salute to Mr Dhanush as director,” they tweeted.

On the work front, Dhanush has Sekhar Kammula’s Kubera in the pipeline. He will also star in Aanand L. Rai’s Tere Ishk Mein. His previous directorial, NEEK, featuring Pavish Narayan and Mathew Thomas, was released theatrically on February 21.