Ajith Kumar

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"Ajit (actor)" redirects here. For the unrelated actor, see Ajit Khan.
Ajith Kumar

Ajith Kumar at Irungattukottai Race Track

1 May 1971 (age 46)[1]
Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
Born
(now in Telangana, India)
[2]

Residence Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Nationality Indian
Asan Memorial Senior Secondary
Alma mater
School
 Film actor
Occupation  race car driver

Years active 1990–present

Spouse(s) Shalini (m. 2000)
Children 2
 P. Subramaniam (father)
Parents  Mohini (mother)

Tamil Nadu State Film Honorary -

MGR Award (2006)
Awards
Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special
Prize (2001)
 Kalaimamani (2000)

Ajith Kumar (born 1 May 1971) is an Indian film actor best known by his mononym Ajith. He
has starred in over 50 films, predominately in Tamil cinema. In addition to his acting, Ajith
Kumar in a sabbatical, he is motor car racer and participated in the MRF Racing series (2010) in
Chennai.[3][4]

He began his career with a small role in the 1990 Tamil film En Veedu En Kanavar. Singer S. P.
Balasubrahmanyam introduced Ajith to Tamil film industry by referring him to play lead role in
Amaravathi (1993).[5] Then, Ajith starred in film Prema Pusthakam (1993), and his first critical
acclaimed appearance was in the thriller Aasai (1995).[6] He subsequently established himself as
a romantic hero with Kadhal Kottai (1996), Aval Varuvala (1998) and Kadhal Mannan (1998).
Successful films such as Vaali (1999), Mugavaree (2000), Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000)
and Citizen (2001)[7] followed. He established himself as an action hero with films such as
Amarkalam (1999), Dheena (2001), Villain (2002), Attahasam (2004), Varalaru (2006),
Mankatha (2011), Arrambam (2013), Veeram (2014), Yennai Arindhaal (2015) and Vedalam
(2015).

Contents
 1 Early life
 2 Acting career
o 2.1 Early career
o 2.2 1995–99
o 2.3 1999–2002
o 2.4 2003–05
o 2.5 2006–08
o 2.6 2010–present
 3 Other works
 4 Racing career
o 4.1 Formula BMW Asia (2003)
o 4.2 Formula 2 (2010)
 5 Personal life
 6 Filmography
 7 Awards
 8 References
 9 External links

Early life
Ajith was born on 1 May 1971, in Hyderabad, India.[1] His father P. Subramaniam is from
Chennai, Tamil Nadu. His mother Mohini is from Kolkata, West Bengal.[3] Ajith created the non-
profit organisation "Mohini-Mani Foundation", named after his parents, in order to promote self-
hygiene and civic consciousness and to help ease the problems of urban sprawl.[8] Ajith was the
middle son out of three brothers, the others being Anup Kumar, an investor, and Anil Kumar, an
IIT Madras graduate turned entrepreneur.[9]

Acting career
Early career

Ajith did not speak Tamil as a child, and mastered it only after becoming an actor.[3] He dropped
out of Asan Memorial Senior Secondary School in 1986 before completing his higher
secondary.[10] During his childhood, he had been a fan of M. G. Ramachandran, Jayalalithaa and
Rajesh Khanna. In his teenage years, he became a fan of Tamil acting icons Rajnikanth and
Kamal Haasan. At 18, Ajith had to take up a job to support his career in racing. Joining as an
apprentice, he rose to be a merchandiser with a garment export company, doing small-time press
ads and TV commercials occasionally. He had put a lot of money into racing and would borrow
tyres from his friends who used to help when the treads wore out, as there was no money in
racing at that time. Following an accident, several business agencies pushed him into modelling
for advertisements in print media. He had to make a choice between films and racing, and as the
films were happening and generating him some money, he began concentrating on it.[10] He
debuted in En Veedu En Kanavar (1990) in a minor role as a school student.[11]

Aged 20, Ajith was selected by the Telugu film production company Lakshmi Productions, to
star in its film; however, shooting was stalled soon after filming began, following the death of
the film's director.[12] Ajith then started his film career at the age of 21, appearing in the low
budget Telugu film Prema Pustakam in 1992, which remains his last direct Telugu film to date.
His first Tamil film Amaravathi, directed by then newcomer Selva, was a moderate success and
his voice was rendered by fellow actor Vikram.[10] After the release and while training for an
amateur motor race, Ajith suffered a fall, injuring his back and underwent three major surgeries
resulting in a bed rest for one and a half years.[12] Following the injury in 1993, Ajith played a
small role in the Arvind Swamy starrer Paasamalargal, before appearing in a supporting lead
role in the family drama Pavithra, which featured him as an ailing patient shown maternal
affection from Raadhika.[13]

1995–99

In 1995, after playing the second lead role in the Vijay starrer Rajavin Parvaiyile, Ajith appeared
in his first major success; Aasai. The film, directed by Vasanth and produced by Mani Ratnam
featured him in the lead role opposite Suvalakshmi, whose brother-in-law infatuates about her.
The film became a big success and established Ajith as an upcoming actor in the Tamil film
industry.[6][14] He later played the lead in Kalloori Vaasal, co-starring Prashanth and Pooja
Bhatt.[10] Ajith's second successful film came in the form of National Award winning Kadhal
Kottai, in which Ajith reunited with Agathiyan, the director of the earlier project Vaanmathi. [15]
During Vaanmathi filming, Ajith and Swathi (actress) fell in love and the actress even revealed
that they are going to get married soon to a Telugu TV channel, however the pair broke up and it
still remains a mystery.[16] The film Kadhal Kottai paired him opposite Devayani, with Heera
Rajgopal playing a supporting role.[7] Heera, Ajith's then girlfriend, played a major role in
shaping Ajith's career.[17]
After the success of his films in 1996, the following year saw a series of five classical successes,
one such being Amitabh Bachchan's Tamil production Ullaasam, with Maheswari, in which he
was paid a salary of ₹2 million (equivalent to ₹7.8 million or US$120,000 in 2017) for the first
time.[10] Ajith returned in 1998 with another big, successful project in Saran's Kaadhal Mannan,
a "masala film", setting the foundation for an expanding fan base.[10] He also began acting in
Vasanth's Nerukku Ner, and was later replaced by Suriya.[18] The following films Aval Varuvala
and Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen also became successes, with the latter featuring Ajith in a guest
role. Except for Uyirodu Uyiraga, which performed poorly, his other three films released in 1998
and six in 1999 were box office hits. Ramesh Khanna's Thodarum and Sundar C's romantic
drama Unnaithedi opposite Malavika set the tone for a series of big successes.

1999–2002

S. J. Suryaah's thriller Vaali, which portrayed him in dual roles for the first time opposite
Simran, became one of his biggest hits during that time.[12] The film told the story of a deaf and
mute brother setting his eyes on his younger brother's wife, with Ajith's portrayal of the two
brothers winning him his first of many awards for Filmfare's Best Actor.[19] Furthermore, Ajith's
portrayal of the brothers was also praised, with critics claiming that the film was an "instant
classic", with Ajith showing that he is a "talented actor".[20] The two following supporting roles
in the drama films Anandha Poongatre and Nee Varuvai Ena also brought Ajith plaudits for his
portrayals. His final film before the new millennium was Amarkalam, directed by Saran and
featuring Shalini, whom he married shortly after the film. Amarkalam told the story of a
neglected child who grew up and failed to show feelings of love or affection, becoming a
gangster in the process, with Ajith's depiction of his rogue character appreciated by critics.[21]