Ajith Kumar: Difference between revisions

Ultimate Star Ajith
Ultimate Star Ajith
	File:Ajith-race.jpg
Born	May 1, 1971; Hyderabad
Occupation	Actor
Website	http://www.ajithfans.com

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Revision as of 15:13, 22 April 2006

Ajith Kumar (born May 1, 1971 in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India) is a immensely popular Tamil actor and a race car driver with a huge fan following. He is affectionately called offscreen as Thala (The Head) by his fans and is titled onscreen as Ultimate Star in his movies since 2001.

Film career

Nineties

Ajith started his film career, at the age of 21, in a Telugu movie Prema Pustagam in 1992. The movie was an instant hit and the Telugu film industry immediately took notice of him awarding him the Best New Face award of that year. His next film was in Tamil - a musical hit called Amaravathi for which he was paid a salary of just Rs390! However his second film released after 17 months - another musical hit Pavithra. The delay was caused due to a bike accident that made him bed-ridden.

Both these films familiarised his lover-boy looks to the people of Tamil Nadu and established him as a promising teen icon. One remarkable feature of his film career is that he has picked up at least one award for his films every year from 1992 through 2002 from government, institutions and media. Almost all his 30+ films have been dubbed or remade into Telugu. In an industry without entry barriers for celebrity sons, Ajith was the only self-made hero in the Nineties who survived and prospered without any film background whatsoever. As late as 1990, he was still working as a garment exporter.

His third film released 10 months later. It was the biggest blockbuster hit of 1995 Aasai, which ran for 210 days, directed by Vasanth and came as a turning point for Ajith. It brought him immense name/face recognition in each and every Tamil household! It was such a runaway success that he began considering cinema as a viable full-time career option for the first time ever! Thereafter film offers poured in regularly!

His fourth release Vaanmathi was also a silver jubilee blockbuster quickly followed by Kalloori Vaasal which was a musical hit later dubbed into Telugu as College Gate! But it was Director Agathiyan's Kadhal Kottai which put him straight into the top slot at the age of 25. The film was a mega blockbuster hit and also received a National Award (award given by the Government of India) for the director. It ran for 240 days!

The musical hit Nesam cast him along with Maheshwari who reappeared in Amitabh Bachan's Ullasam for which his salary was raised to Rs50 lakhs. This was followed by a string of musical hits like Raasi, Rettai Jadai Vayasu, Kadhal Mannan, Uyirodu Uyiraga and the blockbuster Aval Varuvala which cast him along with Simran.

Throughout 1997 and 1998, his personal life came under unprecedented media scrutiny with juicy tabloid gossip about his rocky relationship with actress Heera which ended in Thodarum when she reportedly walked out on him. Ajith went into depression throughout the shoot of the musical hit Unnai Thedi. It was in these troublesome times that another mega blockbuster hit in his career Vaali arrived! This film helped Ajith solidify his reputation (despite all the media mudslinging) as the superstar of next generation! The film was a huge blockbuster hit - a thriller running packed houses for 270 days. From there on, there was no stopping him. He ruled with continuous musical hits like Anandha Poongatrey, Mugavari (71 screens), Kandukondain Kandukondain (its audio rights sale record price of Rs2.2 crores still remains unbeaten, 86 screens) and the blockbuster Amarkalam. Then he set up an independent film distribution company named as AK International.

Noughts

At the age of 30, Ajith went for a radical image makeover in the blockbuster Dheena that released 8 months later (in 114 screens). This was followed by musical hits like Citizen (128 screens) and Poovellam Un Vaasam (143 screens) which picked up dozens of awards from media and government.

For the sake of survival and friendship in an industry with minimal entry barriers, Ajith had to resort to doing guest roles in a relatively large number of films like Paasamalargal, Rajavin Parvaiyiley, Minor Maappillaigal, Pagaivan, Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen, Nee Varuvai Ena, Asoka and Ennai Thalatta Varuvala.

There were some hiccups in the form of films such as Unnai Kodu Ennai Tharuven (100 screens) which had a outrageous plot but Ajith came back strong every time with musical hits Red (157 screens), Raja (171 screens) and the super blockbuster Villain (185 screens) directed by KS Ravikumar which ran for 300 days.

The musical hit Anjaneya released 11 months later amid sky-high expectations (in 200 screens). His salary then peaked at Rs3.5 crores per film and its Telugu remake rights were sold for Rs85+ lacs at the time of shoot itself! But his grip on the world of Kollywood weakened by choosing outlandish plots such as Jana that released 7 months later (in 214 screens). This was the only Ajith film ever that did not take a grand opening due to haphazard marketing, logistic and project management issues. It was then he declared that there would be no more racing and he would concentrate only on acting thereafter.

The musical hit Attagasam (for which he magnanimously waived his full salary) came as a welcome relief (in 228 screens) as Ajith tried full-length comedy to much critical acclaim from masses and classes. In late 2004, Ajith converted all his fanclubs into productive Narpani Eyakkams headquartered in Chennai. Ji opening (in 242 screens) triggered riots and mayhem in several coastal districts. Such is his fan rage! Its Telugu version released in October 2005.

As of January 2006, he has over 60,000 registered fanclubs worldwide! Though his Pongal release Paramasivan arrived 11 months later (in 257 screens), it has still been declared a blockbuster by trade signalling one of the strongest comebacks in Kollywood history! As a result, Ajith is now ranked as the Numero Uno in Kollywood box office!

Ajith's latest release Thirupadhi has opened in 271 screens throughout Tamil Nadu setting a new peak in his long illustrious career. He is one of the few super stars in India who guarantee minimum box office collections worth $2.5 million in the first week of release itself for his films. This has led film critics, fans, publications, producers, distributors and exhibitors to fondly call him King of Opening ever since 1999. His millions of fans worldwide are noted for their overt show of affection on the day of release of his films like performing camphor pooja, paal abishekam for his gigantic 50-feet cutouts, offering special prayers, organising blood donation campaigns, breaking cartloads of coconuts in the streets, tonsuring heads and putting up fancy posters with catchy taglines.

Personal life

Ajith is the middle son of three, born to a Sindhi mother and Malayalee father. Ajith dropped out of 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 Kollywood.

After his surgery for a broken vertebra he lost feeling in his legs, but he took on a vow to recover and walked all the way from his home in Madras to the Balaji shrine in Tirupathi, in Andhra Pradesh. He shed 20 kilos in severe diet and fitness sessions within 40 days for Paramasivan directed by P.Vasu. He is also called The Phoenix in close circles within the film industry due to his self-confidence and resilience.

In Amarkalam, he was paired with fellow actress Shalini for the first time. The film was a silver jubilee blockbuster hit, and Ajith fell in love with his leading lady, who he later married. Ajith is active in spreading awareness of 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's persona is credited as extrovert leadership material by his directors. His off-hand interviews in the Nineties took the conservative Tamil media as well as industry by storm. As a result, his die-hard fans believe he is infallible in character.

Awards & achievements

As an actor

Best New Face Award from Bharatmuni Art Academy for his debut film Prema Pusthakam (Telugu)
Film Fare Award, Cinema Express Award and Dinakaran Cinema Award for the film Vaali(1999)
He is also a recipient of Cinema Express Best Artist Award for the film Mugavari(2000)
Special Actor - State Award for the film Poovellam Un Vasam(2001)
Film Fare Award and Dinakaran Cinema Award for the film Villan(2002)

As a race car driver

He has participated in the Indian Formula Championships in 2002.

He has participated in the Formula 3 BMW Asia Championships in 2003 for Indian Team.

Results : He got the 6th position in the 8th round and the 5th position in the 10th round. In total, he finished 12th among 40 drivers.

He participated in the British F3 Scholarship in 2004 for Indian Team.

Results : He got the 3rd position in the 2nd round and in the 8th round.

Punch Words & Dialogues

1996 - Leokappasa (Vaanmathi)
2001 - Thala (Dheena)
2002 - Adhu (Red)
2004 - Thala Pola Varuma (Attagasam)

Filmography

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Upcoming movies

2006 - God Father - Directed by KS Ravikumar, Produced by Nic Arts, Cast: Ajith, Asin, Kanika - songs trailer
2006 - Naan Kadavul - Directed by Bala, Produced by Sri Rajalakshmi Films Pvt Ltd., Cast: Ajith, Bhavana
2007 - Savaal - Directed by Vishnuvardhan, Produced by Mohan Natarajan, Cast: Ajith, Meera Jasmine

Trivia

He is a professional bike racer
He is the third Indian to take part in international Formula 3 race competitions. The others being Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandok
He owns a pilot licence
He is professional photographer
He is learning to play violin
He has won local Badminton tournaments
His fanbase doubled between Dheena and Villain and again doubled between Villain and Attagasam
Rajinikanth's surprise attendance at the launch function of Paramasivan shocked all and sundry
Director SJ Surya has a framed picture of Ajith in the pooja room of his home and literally worships him daily to show his gratitude. He attended the launch function of Thirupadhi without invitation to show his soldarity with his mentor
Thirupadhi has emerged as the biggest hit in Ajith's career
Jana was the biggest flop in Ajith's career

External links

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 *2006 - '''[[Godfather (film)| God Father]]''' - Directed by '''KS Ravikumar''', Produced by '''Nic Arts''', Cast: '''Ajith, [[Asin (actress) |Asin]], [[Kanika (actress) |Kanika]]''' - [http://www.raaga.com/channels/tamil/movie/T0000787.html songs] [http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/tamil/trailer/7343.html trailer]
 *2006 - '''[[Naan Kadavul]]''' - Directed by '''Bala''', Produced by '''Sri Rajalakshmi Films Pvt Ltd.''', Cast: '''Ajith, [[Bhavana (actress) |Bhavana]]'''
+*2007 - '''[[Savaal]]''' - Directed by '''Vishnuvardhan''', Produced by '''Mohan Natarajan''', Cast: '''Ajith''', [[Meera Jasmine]]
 ==Trivia==