AJITH KUMAR

Early Life and Education

Ajith Kumar born in Hyderabad, India. 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[1] 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[2] and met future wife Shalini on the sets of Amarkalam in 1999.

FILM CAREER

1990s Ajith started his film career at the age of 21 in a Telugu movie Prema Pustagam in 1992, he won the Best New Face Award for his performance.. His next film was in Tamil entitled Amaravathi for which he was paid a token salary of Rs.390.His second Tamil film Pavithrawas delayed for 17 months because of a racing injury that left him bed-ridden. Both films received appreciation from the Tamil audience.It was his third Tamil film that released 10 months later in 1995, Aasai, directed by Vasanth and produced by Mani Rathnam which helped to establish his career as a teen icon in Kollywood. According to Tamilcinema.com, the film grossed almost Rs.50 million at the box office playing for 210 days successfully.
Ajith's first big budget venture Kalloori Vaasal was with Prashanth and Pooja Bhatt, but only after Agathiyan's Vaanmathi and particularly the National Award winning Kadhal Kottai, which established him as an accomplished actor in Kollywood. Kadhal Kottai grossed almost Rs.100 million at the box office playing for 240 days. Ajith later played in Amitabh Bachchan's debut Tamil production in Ullasam that cast Vikram in guest role. This venture paid him a salary of over Rs.5 million for the first time ever.
A string of successful movies followed, most notably Kadhal Mannan and Aval Varuvala and the multiple award winning Vaali which cast him alongside Simran. Vaali saw a new peak in Ajith's career. The film grossed almost Rs.200 million at the box office playing for 270 days. He played a dual role in the film as a deaf-and-dumb twin who lusts after his naive brother's wife.
After Amarkalam with his fiancee Shalini, Ajith set up his own distribution company AK International with office located within the premises of NIC Arts which was run by his friend-producer-distributor S.S.Chakravarthi. This office was shifted in 2006.
2000sUnlike the 1990s when Ajith films had urban romantic plots, the 21st century saw Ajith films with wide-ranging plots based on social issues and civic responsibilities like MGR since the 1950s.
In 2000, Ajith was cast alongside Mammooty, Abbas, Tabu and Aishwarya Rai in Kandukondain Kandukondain. The film's audio rights were sold for a record Rs.22 million, which still stands.[13] Mugavari followed as Ajith acted in alongside Jyothika.
In 2001, Ajith played the role of Shahrukh Khan's brother in the historical film Asoka. He began the year with Dheena by A.R.Murugadas. This showed Ajith as a rowdy alongside Suresh Gopi and Laila. The film is credited with causing the present cult image of Thala to Ajith. Several movies followed: among them the cult film Citizen opposite Vasundhara Das; romantic entertainers like Poovellam Un Vasam and Raja opposite Jyothika and the action tale Red.
He won the South India Filmfare Best Actor Award for Villain, directed by K. S. Ravikumar.Villain, in which he once again donned a dual role, grossed almost Rs.300 million at the box office marking a new office box peak in Ajith's career. By then the Kollywood trade had unanimously begun calling him the King of Opening.
In 2003 and 2004, Ajith acted in Anjaneya, Jana and Attagasam opposite Meera Jasmine, Sneha and Pooja respectively. Anjaneya created a new record for Telugu rights reported at almost Rs.9 million offered by Dr.Rajasekar while Ajith's salary reached a peak of almost Rs.50 million for the film but he waived it when the film did not match expectations. Jana too did not perform as expected and Ajith suffered some high profile fracas with its producer. So, he declared an end to motor racing and Attagasam, in which he donned a dual role again, was successful.
In 2005, Ajith acted in the film Ji opposite Trisha. Project delays by director Bala and producer Chakravarthi forced him to sit idle for the rest of the year. He thus released only 4 films in the three years from 2003 through 2005.
By contrast, in 2006, Ajith acted in three successful projects, Paramasivan directed 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, and is his highest grossing film.
Ajith's latest film is with the newcomer director Chella entitled Aalwar. Both Varalaru and Aalwar were opposite Asin. Aalwar is now playing towards 100th day despite media criticism of content and presentation. It is the widest release in Ajith's career to date. After Aalwar, Ajith reported to do a remake of a 1989 National Award winning Mohanlal classic, entitled Kireedam opposite Trisha. This film is produced by Anil Ambani's conglomerate Adlabs Films and will mark their entry into Kollywood. He sustained a recurring spinal injury on the sets of the film.
However, is Billa 007 is regarded as Ajith's most prestigious venture of 2007, and is scheduled for Deepavali release. The film is a remake of Rajinikanth's 1980 Tamil blockbuster Billa which itself was a remake of Amitabh Bachan's 1978 Hindi blockbuster Don which in turn was remade by Shah Rukh Khan in 2006 as Don again.

AWARDS

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 also won the Filmfare Best Actor Award South on two occasions and Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award (Tamil) for the Movie Kandukondain Kandukondain. On one occasion J.Jayalalitha presented him with a State Award.

TRIVIA

He is the third Indian to take part in international Formula 3 race competitions.

He owns a pilot licence.

He is a professional photographer.

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 & Ayutha Ezhuthu which all finally done by Surya

He shed 20 kilograms in severe diet and fitness sessions within 40 days for Paramasivan.

He gained 6 kilograms for the film Aalwar.

As of January 2006, he has over 60,000 registered fanclubs worldwide

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.

PROFILE

Name : Ajith (Ajit Kumar)
Date of birth : 1st May,1971
Height: 5'11"
Weight:83 Kg
Birthplace: Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh,India
Family : Father-Subramaniam
Mother-Mohini,
Two brothers -Anup Kumar (Elder),Anil Kumar ( Younger)
Wife: Shalini
Visitor's Address : AK International No 5, Vijayalakshmi Street,Mahalingapuram,

Chennai 600034.
House Address : 3rd Floor Ahaja Appartment,T. Nagar Chennai 600 017
Mother tongue : Tamil
Qualification : S.S.L.C
Debut Film : Prema Pusthagam (telugu), Amaravathi (tamil)
Favourite dress : Jeans and T-Shirt
Favourite color : Red
Favourite Holiday spot : London
Favourite food: Non-vegeterian food (Mutton and beef dishes).
Favourite location : Kodaikaanal
Hobbies : listening to music
Special talent : Racing
Philosophy of Life :Live and Let live
Personal Quotes: "Acting is a learning process, and what you are doing in your early films is essentially picking up the nuances, the tricks of your trade. And somewhere along the line, you become analytical, and learn to enjoy what you are doing. Essentially, though, I see myself as a director's medium - he needs something from me, I deliver it."

PERSONAL LIFE

Relationships and family

Ajith's most publicised romance was with actress Heera in the late 1990s. They met during film shootings around Chennai. Heera claims that Ajith's sense of humour attracted her to him although they acted in only two films together from 1996 through 1999. After Ajith's working relationship with Heera ended in early 1999, he began dating his Amarkalam co-star Shalini. Ajith's involvement with Shalini also made him a regular subject of tabloid gossip then, a role to which he was unaccustomed. They married in the year 2000.

Professional Sportsman
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. 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.



Professional Driver
Ajith Kumar is a professional driver, 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 BMW. 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.

“ I’ve always had a need for speed. Ever since I sat in a car I wanted to be a professional racer. Lots of people have told me how difficult it is. But I’m not going to fail and I’ve never given anything less than my best shot in all my endeavors.

Charity Work
Ambassador For The Green RevolutionAjith Kumar is an ambassador for the Green Revolution , an effort to clean up the Chennai environment and encouraging people to. 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. 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.


Mohini-Mani Foundation
Ajith Kumar 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.

Filmography

Tirupathi (2006) .... Tirupathi

Godfather (2006)

Paramasivan (2006) .... Subramania Siva/Eashwar/Paramasivan

Ji (2005) (as Ajith Kumar) .... Vasu

Attagasam (2004) .... Jeeva/Guru

Villain (2003) .... Shiva/Vishnu

Raja (2002)

Red (2002) .... Red

Citizen (2001) .... Citizen

Asoka (2001) (as Ajit Kumar) .... Susima...

aka Ashoka the Great (India: English title) (USA) ...

aka Samrat Ashoka (India: Tamil title: dubbed version)

Deena (2001) .... Deena

Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000) .... Manohar...

aka I Have Found It (International: English title) ...

aka Priyuraalu Pilichindi (India: Telugu title: dubbed version)

Unnai Kodu Ennai Tharuven (2000) .... Surya
Uyirode Uyiraha (1999)

Amarkalam (1999) .... Vasu

Thodarum (1999)

Vaali (1999) .... Deva/Shiva

Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen (1998) .... Sanjay

Kadhal Kottai (1996) .... Surya

Vaanmathi (1996) .... Sunil

Aasai (1995) .... Jeeva

Raajavin Paarvayile (1995) .... Jithan

Pavithra (1994) .... Ashok

Amaram (1991)