Tamil star Dhanush recently attended the Dubai Watch Week, where he spoke about the piece that inspired his love for watches. Unlike what most people expect, it was not a fancy Rolex, Omega, or Audemars Piguet that did it for him, but a watch costing less than $1 ( ₹89.64) that his mother bought for him in his childhood. Here’s what he said.

Dhanush’s most loved watch is less than $1

Dhanush was asked what his first love was when it came to watches, and he replied, “The first watch I fell in love with was a watch my mom got me when I was in school. It’s less than a dollar, no name on it, it’s plastic, it’s digital and will show just the time. There is a light, and it runs out of battery; you have a tiny battery behind it.”

Describing just how much he loved the watch, the actor said, “I come from a very humble background, so once the batteries are out, your watch is done. It came in a lot of colours. My sisters and I chose between violet, yellow, green…it was very shiny and flashy. Even when the battery was down, I would still wear the watch and go to school. It stopped showing time, but I’d still wear it. I really was in love with that watch.”

In fact, Dhanush loves the watch so much, he says he still has it at home in Chennai. “So I still have that one, which, of course, doesn’t work or anything. But I still have it in a case back at home,” he said. The actor-filmmaker also stated how some men grow up falling for fast cars or gaming, but he grew up to love watches.

Recent work

Dhanush had a busy year as an actor, director and producer. This year, he starred in Sekhar Kammula’s Kuberaa, which was released in Tamil and Telugu. He also wrote, directed, produced and starred in Idli Kadai. Dhanush also launched his nephew Pavish in Nilavaku En Mel Ennadi Kobam, which he also directed and produced. He will soon star in Tere Ishk Mein.