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Ajith Kumar (Tamil:அஜித் குமார்) (born May 1, 1971 in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India) also called Ajith is a prominent Indian film actor, a Formula 3 driver for Mango Racing, a professional motorcyclist, an active ambassador for the Green Revolution and the Managing Trustee of 'Mohini-Mani Foundation'. He used to appear in commercials before he started his movie career. He currently acts in regional industries across India with the Tamil film industry being his main focus. Ajith is titles onscreen as Ultimate Star and affectionately addressed as Thala (literally, The Head) by his fans.

Background

Ajith is the middle son of three children others being Anil and Anup Kumar, born in Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh, India) to a Sindhi mother and Palghat Tamil Iyer father. Ajith dropped out of Asan Memorial Sr. Sec. School in 1986 to become a part-time 2/4-wheeler mechanic and full-time garment exporter based in Erode till 1990. Business exigencies pushed him into modelling for adverts in print media which eventually paved the way into Tollywood and later into Tamil films. After his surgery for a broken vertebra he lost feeling in his legs, but he vowed to recover and walked all the way from his home in Madras to the Balaji Shrine in Tirupathi in Andhra Pradesh. He was romantically linked to fellow actress Heera and met future wife Shalini on the sets of Amarkalam in 1999.

Film Actor

Nineties

Ajith started his film career at the age of 21 in a Telugu movie Prema Pustakam in 1992. The movie proved to be successful and he won the Best New Face Award for it. His Tamil debut followed next year in Amaravathi. However, his second Tamil film Pavithra was delayed for 17 months because of a racing injury that left him bed-ridden. Both films fetched him several awards from the media. It was his third Tamil film that released 10 months later in 1995, Aasai, directed by Vasanth and produced by Mani Rathnam which proved to be a super blockbuster at the box office playing for 210 days successfully and grossed almost Rs. 50 million.

In Aasai, Suvalakshmi was cast opposite Ajith. The story was that Prakashraj wanted to marry Suvalakshmi from being her sister's husband. After Agathiyan's Vaanmathi and particularly the National Award winning super blockbuster Kadhal Kottai, he established himself as a super star in Kollywood. Kadhal Kottai grossed almost Rs.100 million playing for 240 days successfully. Back in the mid-nineties, it was a unprecedented figure for a newcomer. The film was a sensation and spawned several clones with the prefix Kadhal... in the title. He played in Amitabh Bachchan's debut Tamil production in Ullasam that cast Vikram in guest role.

A string of successful movies followed, most notably Kadhal Mannan and Aval Varuvala and the award-winning Vaali which cast him alongside Simran. Vaali saw a new peak in Ajith's career. The film grossed almost Rs.200 million playing for 270 days successfully. He played a dual role in the file as a handicapped twin who lusts after his brother's wife.

After doing Amarkalam with his future wife Shalini, Ajith set up his own distribution company AK International. He is an ambassador for the Green Revolution , an effort to clean up the Chennai environment and encouraging people to plant saplings.

Noughts

Unlike the nineties when Ajith films had urban romantic plots, the noughts saw Ajith films with wide-ranging plots based on social issues and civic responsibilities.

In 2000, Ajith was cast alongside Mammooty, Tabu and Aishwarya Rai in Kandukondain Kandukondain. The film's audio rights were sold for a record Rs.22 million. This record still remains unbeaten till date. Mugavari was also a very successful film that Ajith acted in alongside Jyothika. The melodramatic plot details the travails of an ambitious poor musician who is forced to choose between his love and career and later his career and family.

In 2001, Ajith played the role of Shahrukh Khan's brother in the period film Asoka. He began the year with the sensational hit from A.R.Murugadas - Dheena. This marked a new chapter in Ajith's career. The film gave the present macho image of Thala to Ajith. Several succesful movies followed: among them the cult film Citizen opposite Vasundhara Das and Poovellam Un Vasam and Raja opposite Jyothika and Red.

He won the South India Filmfare Best Actor Award for Villain, directed by K. S. Ravikumar. Villain grossed almost Rs. 300 million marking a new peak in Ajith's career.

In 2003 and 2004, Ajith acted in Anjaneya, Jana and Attagasam opposite Meera Jasmine, Sneha and Pooja. Anjaneya created a new record for Telugu rights with sales reported at almost Rs.9 million. In 2005, Ajith acted in the film Ji opposite Trisha. All the movies, except Attagasam, were average grossers and Ajith suffered some high profile fracas with producers. Various other injuries whilst driving in Formula 3 meant he was injured for the rest of the year. He thus released only 4 films in the three years from 2003 to 2005 due to his passion for motor racing.

In 2006, Ajith acted in three successful projects, Paramasivan directed by P. Vasu, Thirupathi directed by Perarasu and particularly Varalaru directed by K. S. Ravikumar. This is his comeback movie since Villain. Varalaru emerged as the biggest grosser of the year earning almost Rs. 500 million, reports India Today. It also became the biggest blockbuster in Ajith's career till date.

Ajith's latest film is with the newcomer director Chella entitled Aalwar. Both Varalaru and Aalwar were opposite Asin. Aalwar released in almost 330 screens worldwide in early 2007 including 230 screens in Tamil Nadu alone. This is the biggest release in Ajith's career till date. After Aalwar, Ajith reported to do a remake of a 1989 National Award winning Mohanlal classic, entitled Kireedam opposite Trisha. This film is set to be released on Ajith's birthday on May 1st 2007.

Ajith over the years in the industry and in this profession has won many awards, when he started acting he won the Best New Face Award from Bharatmuni Art Academy for his debut film Prema Pustagam in Telugu. After this award he won three, a Filmfare Award, a Cinema Express Award and a Dinakaran Cinema Award for the film Vaali in 1999. He then won another Cinema Express Best Artist Award for the film Mugavari in 2000. In 2001 he won the Special Actor - State Award for the film Poovellam Un Vasam. He then won another Filmfare Award and another Dinakaran Cinema Award for the film Villain in 2002. Ajith Kumar has won the Filmfare Best Actor Award South on 2 occasions.

Professional Motorcyclist

Ajith Kumar is a professional motorcyclist, drives in circuits around India in places such as Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi. He had also been abroad in his various races he has also gone abroad to places such as Germany, at home he owns a Yamaha. Ajith then turned this into a distant hobby as he continued acting at his best, but he decided to develop a new hobby of car racing for Formula 3 and for the Japanese company Mango Racing.

Ambassador For The Green Revolution

Ajith Kumar is an ambassador for the Green Revolution , an effort to clean up the Chennai environment and encouraging people to plant saplings.

Filmography

Trivia

Ajith was the third Indian to take part in international Formula 3 race competitions. He has held a pilot licence since he was 18. He is a professional photographer and takes photos as a hobby. As of January 2006, he has over 60,000 registered fanclubs. worldwide. He sends flowers even to his critics. Ajith prefers to give generic press meets rather than one-to-one exclusive interviews. He was First offered to star in Nerrukku Ner ,Mounam Pesiyadhe ,Nandha ,Friends ,Ghajini & Ayutha Ezhuthu which all finally done by Surya.. Ajith is called as the King of Opening by trade since 2000. His films fetch minimum guarantees in excess of Rs.100 million for its distributors.

References

1. Ajith introduced as a hero
2. Ajith to race in Formula 3
3. Ajith in Motorcycle accident
4. Ajith helps the poor plant saplings
5. Ajith is very keen to take the social work that he started

External links

• Ajith Kumar at IMDb
• Ajith's Fan Club

• Indian actors
• Telugu people
• Tamil actors
• Living people
• British Formula Three Championship drivers