Ajith Kumar is an Indian actor who works mainly in Tamil cinema. Apart from a small role in the 1990 Tamil film En Veedu En Kanavar,[1] his professional career began three years later with his debut as a lead actor in Tamil cinema with Amaravathi (1993). Despite being a moderate success, the film helped him obtain more modelling assignments. He followed it up the same year with Prema Pusthakam, his only Telugu film to date.[2][3] After Amaravathi's release, Ajith opted against acting, and instead tried pursuing a career in auto racing. While training for an amateur race, he injured his back and underwent three major surgeries, leaving him bed-ridden for a year and a half.[4] After recovering from the injury, he played supporting roles in Paasamalargal (1994) and Pavithra (1994).[4][5] After this, he co-starred with Vijay in Rajavin Parvaiyile (1995). That same year, he had his breakthrough with the romantic thriller Aasai. His performance earned him critical acclaim and established him as an up-and-coming actor in Tamil cinema.

He was next seen as the main lead in Agathiyan's epistolary Kadhal Kottai (1996), a critical and commercial success.[4] In 1997, he had five releases, all of which were commercial failures.[3] Ajith's dual portrayal of twin brothers—where one is deaf-mute—in S. J. Suryah's Vaalee (1999) won him his first Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Actor. Impressed with his performance in that film, Rajiv Menon cast Ajith in the ensemble drama Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000) which was also commercial and critical success.[3][6] The following year, he collaborated with debutant director AR Murugadoss on the action film Dheena. The film was successful in establishing his reputation as an action hero and earning him the nickname "Thala" ("head").[7][lower-alpha 1] He earned critical acclaim for his dual role performance in the vigilante film Citizen (2001),[9] and the film was commercial success.[10] and a Best Actor nomination at Filmfare for the drama Poovellam Un Vasam (2001). His last release of the year was Santosh Sivan's Hindi film Aśoka, where he played a brief antagonistic role opposite Shah Rukh Khan.[11][12] His dual-role performance as twin brothers in K. S. Ravikumar's film Villain (2002) won him a second Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Actor.[13]

Between 2003 and 2005, Ajith cut back on his acting career to focus on his racing career.[14] During this time, he had his only commercial success with Attahasam (2004).[15][16] Two years later he starred in Ravikumar's Varalaru, in which he played three different roles. It became the highest-grossing Tamil film of that year,[17] and Ajith went on to receive his third Best Tamil Actor award at Filmfare for his performance. In 2007 he was seen in two remakes—Kireedam and Billa,[lower-alpha 2] both of which were big box office hits.[17] His next two releases, Aegan (2008) and Aasal (2010), were critical and commercial failures.[18]

Ajith played an antihero—as a money-minded, suspended police officer—in Venkat Prabhu's Mankatha (2011).[18][lower-alpha 3] It had the biggest opening of that year for a Tamil film,[lower-alpha 4] and became Ajith's biggest commercial success to that point.[20] His next release, Billa II (2012), Tamil cinema's first prequel,[lower-alpha 5] opened to mixed reviews.[22][23] He followed that with the multi-starrer Arrambam (2013) and Siva's masala film Veeram (2014), both of which were commercially successful.[24] In 2015 he collaborated with Gautham Vasudev Menon for the crime thriller Yennai Arindhaal.[25][26] His performance as an undercover police officer earned him a Best Tamil Actor nomination at the 63rd Filmfare Awards South.[27] His second release of the year, Vedalam, had the biggest opening day in Tamil cinema and was among the highest grossing Tamil films of the year.[7]

Films

Key
† Denotes films that have not yet been released
  • All films are in Tamil, unless otherwise noted.
List of Ajith Kumar film credits
Year Film Role(s) Notes Ref.
1990 En Veedu En Kanavar School boy Child artist [28]
1993 Amaravathi Arjun [29]
[30]
Prema Pusthakam Sreekar Telugu film [5]
[31]
1994 Paasamalargal Kumar Cameo appearance [5]
Pavithra Ashok [32]
1995 Rajavin Parvaiyile Chandru Cameo appearance [5]
Aasai Jeevanantham [33]
1996 Vaanmathi Krishna [34]
Kalloori Vaasal Vasanth [35]
Minor Mappillai Ramu [5]
Kadhal Kottai Surya [5]
1997 Nesam Ranganathan [5]
Raasi Kumar [5]
Ullaasam Guru [5]
Pagaivan Prabhu [5]
Rettai Jadai Vayasu Vijay [5]
1998 Kaadhal Mannan Shiva [36]
Aval Varuvala Jeeva [5]
Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen Sanjay Cameo appearance [5]
Uyirodu Uyiraga Ajay [37]
1999 Thodarum Jayaram [38]
Unnai Thedi Raghu [39]
Vaalee Shiva/Deva[lower-alpha 6] [40]
[41]
Anantha Poongatre Jeeva [5]
Amarkalam Vasu 25th Film [42]
Nee Varuvai Ena Subramani Cameo appearance [5]
2000 Mugavaree Sridhar [43]
Kandukondain Kandukondain Manohar [44]
Unnai Kodu Ennai Tharuven Surya [45]
2001 Dheena Dheenadhayalan (Thala)[lower-alpha 7] [46]
Citizen Citizen/Subramani[lower-alpha 6] [47]
Poovellam Un Vasam Chinna [48]
[49]
Aśoka Susima Hindi film [50]
[31]
2002 Red Red [51]
Raja Raja [52]
Villain Shiva/Vishnu[lower-alpha 6] [13]
[53]
2003 Ennai Thalatta Varuvala Sathish Cameo appearance [54]
Anjaneya Paramaguru [55]
2004 Jana Janarthanan [56]
Attahasam Guru/Jeeva[lower-alpha 6] [57]
2005 Ji Vasu [58]
2006 Paramasivan Subramaniyam Siva (Paramasivan)[lower-alpha 7] [59]
Thirupathi Thirupathi [60]
Varalaru Jeeva/Shivashankar/Vishnu[lower-alpha 8] [61]
[62]
2007 Aalwar Shiva [63]
Kireedam Sakthivel [64]
Billa David Billa/Saravanavelu[lower-alpha 6] [65]
[66]
2008 Aegan Shiva [67]
2010 Aasal Jeevanantham/Shiva[lower-alpha 6] Also screenwriter [68]
[69]
2011 Mankatha Vinayak Mahadev 50th Film [70]
[71]
2012 Billa II David Billa [72]
English Vinglish A flight passenger Tamil version of the Hindi film[lower-alpha 9]
Cameo appearance		 [74]
2013 Arrambam Ashok Kumar [75]
[76]
2014 Veeram Vinayagam [77]
[78]
2015 Yennai Arindhaal Sathyadev [79]
[80]
Vedalam Ganesh (Vedalam)[lower-alpha 7] [81]
2017 Vivegam Ajay Kumar (AK)[lower-alpha 7] [82]
2019 Viswasam Thookku Durai [83]
Nerkonda Paarvai Bharath Subramaniam [84]
2022 Valimai Arjun Kumar [85]
2023 Thunivu Dark Devil [86]
2024 Vidaa Muyarchi † TBA [87]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Ajith Kumar's character in the film is called by the nickname "Thala".[8]
  2. ↑ Kireedam was a remake of the namesake 1989 Malayalam film while Billa was a remake of the 1980 Tamil film of the same name.
  3. ↑ It was Ajith Kumar's 50th film.[18]
  4. ↑ The film grossed ₹252 million in its first week.[19]
  5. ↑ The film was a prequel to his 2007 film of the same name.[21]
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ajith Kumar played two characters.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Ajith Kumar played a character with two or more names.
  8. ↑ Ajith Kumar played three characters.
  9. ↑ It was originally filmed in Hindi with a few scenes additionally shot for the Tamil version. Ajith Kumar played the role of Amitabh Bachchan in the Tamil dubbed version.[73]

References

  1. ↑ "What's Ajith's actual film debut?". The Times of India. 9 May 2014. Archived from the original on 1 June 2017.
  2. ↑ Ramanujam, Srinivasa (30 April 2018). "Nine days and a killer wave: the story behind Ajith's 'Prema Pusthakam'". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 2 September 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 Rajitha (15 September 1999). "Pyar to hona hi tha". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 Warrier, Shobha (6 July 1999). "Bad back, great future". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "அஜித் 56; 'காதல் புத்தகம்' முதல் 'வேதாளம்' வரை" [Ajith 56; From 'Kadhal Puthagam' to 'Vedalam']. Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). 28 November 2015. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016.
  6. ↑ "Thalapathi' to 'Iruvar': A look at multi-starrer films in Tamil cinema". The Times of India. 2 August 2018. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  7. 1 2 Pillai, Sreedhar (14 November 2015). "A cracker of an opening". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 31 December 2016.
  8. ↑ Upadhyaya, Prakash (25 May 2016). "'Thala 58': Is AR Murugadoss hinting at joining hands with Ajith?". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 31 December 2016.
  9. ↑ Kamath, Sudhish; Kannan, Ramya; Kumar, S.Shiva; Oppili, P. (29 December 2000). "Talk of the town". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 31 December 2016.
  10. ↑ S Saraswathi (5 February 2015). "Ajith's Top 10 Hits". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  11. ↑ Rangarajan, Malathi (24 August 2007). "It's all about choices". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 23 December 2016.
  12. ↑ Srinivasan, Lata (1 May 2012). "I'm not in competition with anybody: Ajith". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015.
  13. 1 2 "Ajit, Simran bag Filmfare awards". The Times of India. Press Trust of India. 17 May 2003. Archived from the original on 6 June 2017.
  14. ↑ Allirajan, M.; Rao, Subha J. (24 November 2003). "A for attitude". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 31 December 2016.
  15. ↑ "Racing to be a Superstar". The Hindu. 9 June 2004. Archived from the original on 31 December 2016.
  16. ↑ Poornima (23 November 2004). "Ajith tastes success!". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012.
  17. 1 2 Saraswathi, S. (5 February 2015). "Ajith's Top 10 Hits". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 31 December 2016.
  18. 1 2 3 Raghavan, Nikhil (16 July 2011). "What's on the cards?". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 31 December 2016.
  19. ↑ "Ajith is emperor of opening". Sify. 10 September 2011. Archived from the original on 30 January 2017.
  20. ↑ "Mankatha takes best opening of 2011". Sify. 2 September 2011. Archived from the original on 9 October 2015.
  21. ↑ Raghavan, Nikhil (29 April 2012). "The don of summer". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 23 December 2016.
  22. ↑ "Find out who's who of Tamil film 'Billa 2'". News18. 15 July 2012. Archived from the original on 26 December 2016.
  23. ↑ Narayanan, Sharadha (18 June 2012). "'Billa 2': The art of telling a story backwards". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 23 December 2016.
  24. ↑ Seshagiri, Sangeetha (11 January 2014). "'Veeram' Review Roundup: Complete Masala Entertainer for Ajith's Fans". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 30 April 2016.
  25. ↑ Haricharan (17 February 2015). "I am dying to work with Ajith again". Bangalore Mirror. Archived from the original on 23 December 2016.
  26. ↑ V.P, Nicy (16 February 2015). "Yennai Arindhaal got positive reviews from critics and audience alike". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 23 December 2016.
  27. ↑ Sundaram, Nandhu (22 November 2016). "Acham Enbathu Madamaiyada, A Medley Of Filmmaker Gautham Menon's Favourite Motifs". Outlook. Archived from the original on 2 January 2017.
  28. ↑ "Tamil celebrities who worked as child artists". The Times of India. 4 August 2015. Archived from the original on 6 June 2017.
  29. ↑ Mannath, Malini (11 June 1993). "Fair source of entertainment". The Indian Express. p. 6.
  30. ↑ "Ajith's 50th film launched". Rediff.com. 6 August 2010. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  31. 1 2 Shivakumar, Vivek (9 August 2019). "From 'Aasai Nayagan' to 'Thala': Ajith's Career Through Titles". Film Companion. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  32. ↑ Vijiyan, K. (19 December 1994). "Many flaws in this sentimental attempt". New Straits Times. p. 28. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  33. ↑ "25 Years of Ajith Kumar: Aasai to Mankatha, a look at the best films of Thala". India Today. 3 August 2017. slide 1. Archived from the original on 29 November 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  34. ↑ Rajitha (4 April 1997). "The Star Next Door". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  35. ↑ Kumar, S. R. Ashok (7 January 2010). "Grill Mill: Interview with actor-choreographer Kalyan". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 23 December 2016.
  36. ↑ "தில்லோத்தமா கண் சிமிட்டி, தலை சாய்த்துப் புன்னகைத்ததை மறக்க முடியுமா?!". Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). 6 March 2019. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  37. ↑ Ramesh, Kala Krishnan (21 February 1999). "Tuvvi, tuvvi, tuvvi". Deccan Herald. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012.
  38. ↑ S., Arul (25 April 1999). "Film Review". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012.
  39. ↑ Vijiyan, K. N. (6 March 1999). "Sundar C. delivers another hit". New Straits Times. p. 19. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  40. ↑ Kumar, S. R. Ashok (15 April 2000). "Star-spangled show on cards". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 17 July 2014.
  41. ↑ Sebastian, Pradeep; K., Kavitha; Ramesh, Kala Krishnan (31 May 1999). "Film Reviews". Deccan Herald. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012.
  42. ↑ Rajendran, Sowmya (24 April 2020). "Revisiting 'Amarkalam', the film that brought Ajith and Shalini together". The News Minute. Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  43. ↑ Rangarajan, Malathi (3 March 2000). "Film Review: Mugavaree". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016.
  44. ↑ Baskaran, S. Theodore (28 May 2000). "From the known to the unknown". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 31 December 2016.
  45. ↑ Rangarajan, Malathi (2 June 2000). "Film Review: Unnai Kodu Ennai Tharuvaen". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016.
  46. ↑ Rangarajan, Malathi (2 February 2001). "Film Review: Dheena". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016.
  47. ↑ Rangarajan, Malathi (15 June 2001). "Film Review: Citizen". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 19 May 2015.
  48. ↑ "The 49th Annual Filmfare Awards – South". Times Internet. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015.
  49. ↑ "Film Review: Poovellam Un Vaasam". The Hindu. 24 August 2001. Archived from the original on 25 February 2005.
  50. ↑ Mahadevan-Dasgupta, Uma (25 November 2001). "The Emperor's new clothes". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 10 June 2010.
  51. ↑ Rangarajan, Malathi (25 January 2002). "Red". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016.
  52. ↑ Rangarajan, Malathi (12 July 2002). "Raja". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016.
  53. ↑ Rangarajan, Malathi (15 November 2002). "Villain". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016.
  54. ↑ Rangarajan, Malathi (28 March 2003). "Ennai Thalaata Varuvaala". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016.
  55. ↑ Rangarajan, Malathi (7 November 2003). "Anjaneya". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016.
  56. ↑ Rangarajan, Malathi (7 May 2004). "Jana". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016.
  57. ↑ "Attakasam". Sify. 12 November 2004. Archived from the original on 3 January 2017.
  58. ↑ Rangarajan, Malathi (18 February 2005). "Ji". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016.
  59. ↑ Rangarajan, Malathi (20 January 2006). "Going in for a much-changed look". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016.
  60. ↑ Rangarajan, Malathi (21 April 2006). "As stale as it gets — Tirupathi". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016.
  61. ↑ "54th Filmfare Awards-Tamil". Sify. 31 July 2007. Archived from the original on 31 December 2016.
  62. ↑ Rangarajan, Malathi (27 October 2006). "In the race, surely — Varalaaru". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016.
  63. ↑ Rangarajan, Malathi (19 January 2007). "Ire and fire all over again – Aazhwar". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016.
  64. ↑ Rangarajan, Malathi (27 June 2007). "Whose crown is it, anyway? – Kireedam". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016.
  65. ↑ Pillai, Sreedhar (29 June 2008). "Filmfare Awards – And the nominations are". The Times of India.
  66. ↑ Rangarajan, Malathi (21 March 2007). "Billa beats boredom". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016.
  67. ↑ Rangarajan, Malathi (31 October 2008). "Stylish sprint again — Aegan". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 23 December 2016.
  68. ↑ Rao, Subha J. (12 February 2010). "Not the real thing". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016.
  69. ↑ Srinivasan, Pavithra (5 February 2010). "Review: Asal is for Ajith fans". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016.
  70. ↑ "59th Filmfare Awards South". Filmfare Awards South. 7 July 2012. The Times Group.
  71. ↑ Rangarajan, Malathi (3 September 2011). "A gutsy game!". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 23 December 2016.
  72. ↑ Subramanian, Karthik (14 July 2012). "Does 'Billa II' beckon?". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 23 December 2016.
  73. ↑ Udasi, Harshikaa (18 August 2012). "An experience to remember". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 13 February 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  74. ↑ Kamath, Sudhish (26 October 2012). "English Vinglish: The Queen's Speech". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 1 June 2013.
  75. ↑ Rangan, Baradwaj (4 November 2013). "Arrambam: Mission to "mass"". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 23 March 2014.
  76. ↑ "61st Idea Filmfare Awards — Complete Nominations List". The Times of India. 12 July 2014. Archived from the original on 6 June 2017.
  77. ↑ Rangan, Baradwaj (11 January 2014). "Veeram: Generous helping of masala pongal". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 3 July 2014.
  78. ↑ "Nominations for the 62nd Britannia Filmfare Awards (South)". Filmfare. 3 June 2015. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016.
  79. ↑ "Nominations for the 63rd Britannia Filmfare Awards (South)". Filmfare. 7 June 2016. Archived from the original on 29 September 2016.
  80. ↑ Subramanian, Karthik (5 February 2015). "'Yennai Arindhaal': Ending cop trilogy on a high". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016.
  81. ↑ Srinivasan, Sudhir (10 November 2015). "Vedhalam: Pulsating fight scenes, but predictable otherwise". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016.
  82. ↑ Ramanujam, Srinivasa (24 August 2017). "'Vivegam' review: Fast without fury". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 24 August 2017.
  83. ↑ Menon, Thinkal (10 January 2019). "Viswasam Movie Review". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 10 January 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  84. ↑ Srinivasan, Sudhir (7 August 2019). "Nerkonda Paarvai Movie Review: Ajith's integration into this remake is to mixed results". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 7 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  85. ↑ Pudipeddi, Haricharan (24 February 2022). "Valimai review: Terrific action in Ajith Kumar film supersedes predictable story". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  86. ↑ K, Janani (11 January 2023). "Thunivu Movie Review: Ajith Kumar as anti-hero is a treat to watch in this mediocre heist thriller". India Today. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  87. ↑ K, Janani (1 May 2023). "Ajith Kumar's Vidaa Muyarchi with Magizh Thirumeni finally announced on his birthday. See poster". India Today. Retrieved 4 May 2023.

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