Ajith Kumar (
Tamil:அஜித் குமார்) (born
May 1,
1971 in
Hyderabad,
Andhra Pradesh,
India) also called Ajith is a prominent
Indian film actor
[1], a professional
Formula 3 driver for
Mango Racing[2], a
professional motorcyclist,
[3] an active
ambassador for the
Green Revolution[4] and the Managing Trustee of 'Mohini-Mani Foundation'
[5]. 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. He is known affectionately in his
fanbase as
Thala (
Leader) and titled onscreen as the
Ultimate Star.
BackgroundAjith 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.
[
edit] Film Actor
Ajith started his film career at the age of 21 in a
Telugu movie Prema Pustagam 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. This psycho-thriller highlighted the capabilities of Ajith's acting. Prakashraj also played a very important role that made the initial story so much better, the climax was dramatic and interesting, this was the movie that gained him teenage fans initially.
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 of next generation. Kadhal Kottai grossed over Rs.50 million. Back in the mid-nineties, it was a unprecedented figure for a newcomer. 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
Aval Varuvala and the award-winning super blockbuster
Vaali which cast him alongside
Simran. In this film Ajith played a much anticipated double role, it was highly interesting as one was deaf and dumb whilst the other was an easy going chap, both fell in love with
Simran. After
Amarkalam in 1999, with his future wife Shalini, he 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. He uses his films for subtle marketing of his ideas in this regard. Throughout the Nineties, Ajith was seen in many successful movies in guest appearances such as
Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen and
Nee Varuvai Ena, and his momentom carried him over into the millenium.
In 2000, Ajith was cast alongside
Mammooty,
Tabu and
Aishwarya Rai in
Kandukondain Kandukondain. This film turned out to be a successful and calm family story.
Mugavari was also a very successful film that Ajith acted in alongside
Jyothika. 2001 was the most successful year in Ajith's career, first he released
Asoka which was his first Hindi film alongside the likes of
Shahrukh Khan and
Kareena Kapoor, this was a huge step in his career, but he made it clear that he liked to remain in Kollywood. He then followed with decent hits such as
Poovellam Un Vasam opposite
Jyothika, which was a calm family story. Then
Citizen, which was a good film as anticipated before hand, then he finished of the year with
Dheena, the very film that earned him the status of
Thala, which means leader. In 2002, Ajith was among the top in
Kollywood with films such as
Villian turning out to be huge hits. These two films brought out further acting capabilities inside Ajith, who was on a roll. He won the
South India Filmfare Best Actor Award for
Villain, directed by
K. S. Ravikumar. In 2003 and 2004, Ajith acted in
Attagasam,
Jana and
Anjaneya opposite
Sneha,
Pooja and
Meera Jasmine, both these films ran on to be average grossers in the industry making no real effect overall to Ajith acting skills. Ajith was in need of a hit. In 2005, Ajith acted in the film
Ji opposite
Trisha, this was a much anticipated release for Ajith and his fans, but however the film ended up doing badly in the box office. Various other injuries whilst driving in
Formula 3 meant he was injured for the rest of the year. In 2006, Ajith has acted in three projects,
Paramasivan directed by
P. Vasu,
Thirupathi directed by
Perarasu and
Varalaru directed by
K. S. Ravikumar . All three of these films had good openings,
Paramasivan ran 127 days, whilst
Thirupathi ran 106 days in the box office. Varalaru, in particular, grossed over Rs.500 million and emerged as the biggest blockbuster in Ajith's career till date. His next production will be it is expected to be released in
Diwali 2006.
Ajith's next film will be with
Chella, the film will be entitled
Aalwar. Both
Varalaru and
Aalwar are opposite
Asin. After
Aalwar, Ajith is all set to act in a remake of a Mohanlal classic, entitled
Kireedam opposite
Trisha. This film is set to be released on Ajith's birthday on May 1st 2007. It is expected to open big and do well in the box office as the
Mohanlal flick in
Malayalam stunned the whole of the State.
Ajith over his 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. This was a marvellous effort and it was the one of the only times that an actor had bagged all these awards. He then won another
Cinema Express Best Artist Award for the film
Mugavari in 2000. In 2001 he won and very prestigious award,
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 occaisons.
[
edit] Professional Formula 3 Driver
Ajith Kumar is a professional
Formula 3 driver for
Mango Racing, this is very prestigious for an
Indian driver as he is the only third Indian to get to this stage in his life. He has participated in the Indian
Formula Championships in
2002 which was held in
Jaipur respectively. This is when drivers in India play against each other in a hope to get sponsered by main businessman fo a company. Ajith caught the eye of the Mango racing Company who were new to the frama themselves, there were situated from
China, but Ajith got along with them well. Ajith then for
Mango Racing had participated in the
Formula 3 BMW Asia Championships in
2003 for Indian
Team. This was obviously a new and exciting experience for such a young and talented actor. He got the
6th position in the
8th round and the
5th position in the
10th round, which was respectful as an Indian driver, he missed most of the races due to injury and due to acting in
Kollywood films. In total, he finished
12th among
40 drivers, which was again very good, considering it was not his main proffession. Ajith then participated in the
British F3 Scholarship in
2004 for Indian
Team. Which was the biggested competituion that he had particuipated in yet, so for sure he was optimistic of it. He got the
3rd position in the
2nd round and in the
8th round. Formula Three, is a type of
formula racing and a class of
open-wheeler motor racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America, and Asia form an important step for many prospective
Formula One drivers. Formula Three has traditionally been regarded as the first major stepping stone for Formula One hopefuls - it is typically the first point in a driver's career at which most of the drivers in the series are aiming at professional careers in racing rather than being amateurs and enthusiasts.
[
edit] Professional Motorcyclist
Ajith Kumar Kumar is a professional motorcyclist, drives in circuits around
India in places such as
Mumbai,
Chennai and
Dehli. 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. The Yamaha YZF-R1
motorcycle, introduced in
1998, was the first significant motorcycle in the true liter class (1,000 cc) "handling
arms race" between the
Japanese Big Four motorcycle manufacturers (
Honda,
Kawasaki Heavy Industries,
Suzuki and
Yamaha Motor Corporation). When introduced, it took the class closer to a true racing motorcycle, and increased the handling capabilities. 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.
[
edit] Ambassador For The Green Revolution
He is an
ambassador for the
Green Revolution , an effort to clean up the
Chennai environment and encouraging people to
plant saplings. He uses his films for subtle marketing of his ideas in this regard. Ajith lead the way in greening his locality in Adyar, Chennai he planted 101 saplings on Sunday 26th December. Ajith believed recent studies show that global warming is a major threat and will cause dire consequences. He believed it is our duty to preserve our environment. Ajith Fans Welfare Association along with Exnora International has decided on a series of programmes to grow many new forms of life. The term Green Revolution is used to describe the transformation of agriculture in many developing nations that led to significant increases in
cereal production between the 1940s and 1960s. This transformation occurred as the result of programs of agricultural research, extension, and infrastructural development largely funded by the
Rockefeller Foundation, the
Ford Foundation, and national governments. The term “Green Revolution” was first used by former
USAID director William Gaud in 1968 who stated, “[The rapid spread of modern wheat and rice varieties throughout Asia] and other developments in the field of agriculture contain the makings of a new revolution. The Green Revolution has had major social and ecological impacts, which have drawn intense praise and equally intense criticism.
[
edit] Mohini-Mani Foundation
Ajith created this organization in order to help people to come to their senses and tidy up after themselves and make
India and
Chennai a better place to live in, as currently
India is in extreme
poverty, and being a man that is moderately
rich he wishes to make an effect in
Tamil Nadu. The name of this organisatrion is named after his mum and dad, who fully support him in this project to find social workers. Ajith has no problem finding social workers as he has plenty of fans around the world anyway, so he can tell them what he want. On some days when he is free of acting Ajith helps out making Tamil Nadu a better place to live in. He hopes that many other actors will follow his ways and get supporters to do this for the State. As this was set up when he was in love with Shalini, one suggests that it was her who influenced him to do this and she enjoys helping him out with his duties.
TriviaAjith was the
third Indian to take part in
international Formula 3 race competitions. Which is very prestigious for an Indian. He owns a
pilot licence since he was 18. He is a
professional photographer and takes photos as a hobby. 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. He shed
20 kilograms in severe
diet and
fitness sessions within
40 days for
Paramasivan. He soon gained
6 kilograms for the film
Aalwar. As of
January 2006, he has over 60,000 registered fanclubs
worldwide[2]. His fanbase doubled between Dheena and Villain and again doubled between Villain and Attagasam. He sends
flowers even to his critics. He is a
first-class professional bike racer. Very disciplined in his
work, he keeps a visitors'
book, in which
people who go to the sets to meet him can leave their names. Ajith is sure to call them back once the
shoot is over. Ajith is called the King of Opening in Kollywood.
References^ Ajith introduced as a hero^ Ajith to race in Formula 3^ Ajith in Motorcycle accident^ Ajith helps the poor plant saplings^ Ajith is very keen to take the social work that he started
