Ajith Kumar Subramaniam (born 1 May 1971) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil cinema. To date, he has starred in over 63 films, and won four Vijay Awards, three Cinema Express Awards, three Filmfare Awards South and three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. In addition to his acting career, Ajith is an occasional racing driver and participated in the MRF Racing series (2010) and having competed in circuits around India in places such as Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi. He is one among very few Indians to race in the international arena and in Formula championships. Based on the annual earnings of Indian celebrities, he was included in the Forbes India Celebrity 100 list three times.
Kumar began his career with a small role in the 1990 Tamil romantic drama En Veedu En Kanavar. After his success in Rajavin Parvaiyile, his first major breakthrough was Aasai (1995), Ajith established himself as a romantic hero with Kadhal Kottai (1996), Kaadhal Mannan (1998) and Aval Varuvala (1998), and established himself as an action hero starting with the film Amarkkalam (1999). Kumar'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 Actor – Tamil. He earned critical acclaim for his dual roles in the vigilante film Citizen (2001). He was also praised for his dual role performance in K. S. Ravikumar’s Villain (2002) where he won his second Filmfare Award for Best Actor - Tamil. In 2006, he starred in K. S. Ravikumar's Varalaru, in which he played three roles including one of a classical Bharatanatyam dancer. It became the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2006, and earned him another Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil. The following year, he starred in two remakesKireedam (2007) and Billa (2007), both of which earned him critical acclaim. Kumar played an antagonist in his 50th film Mankatha (2011), which became one of the highest-grossing Tamil films of all time. His next release, Billa II (2012), was Tamil cinema's first prequel.
Kumar has also been abroad for various races, including Germany and Malaysia. He drove in the 2003 Formula Asia BMW Championships. He raced in the 2010 Formula 2 Championship along with two Indians, Armaan Ebrahim and Parthiva Sureshwaren. In 2025, Government of India honoured him with Padma Bhushan, the nation's third highest civilian honour.
Early life Ajith Kumar was born on 1 May 1971 in Secunderabad, present-day Telangana, India. His father, P. Subramaniam (died 2023), was from a Tamil Palakkad Iyer family from Kerala and his mother, Mohini (died 2026), was a Sindhi from Kolkata, West Bengal. Ajith was the middle son out of three brothers, one of his other brothers is Anil Kumar, an IIT Madras graduate-turned-entrepreneur, and the other one is Anup Kumar.
Kumar dropped out of Asan Memorial Senior Secondary School during his tenth grade, before he had completed his higher secondary schooling. Through a family friend who worked with the Enfield company, Kumar was able to get a job as an apprentice and spent six months training to be a mechanic. He later quit the role at the insistence of his father, who wanted Kumar to have a white-collar job, and joined another family friend's garment exporting company as an apprentice. He eventually progressed to become a business developer and regularly travelled throughout the country on sales assignments, improving his English-speaking skills. After resigning from the role, Kumar set up a textiles business distributing fabric alongside three other partners. The business venture underperformed prompting Kumar to take up another job in the garments industry. During the period, Kumar also began working on modelling assignments alongside his work. He was notably scouted by P. C. Sreeram during the making of a commercial for Hercules Cycle and Motor Company, who felt he had the appearance to become an actor.
Acting career 1990–1998
Kumar began his acting career through a one-scene appearance as a school child in En Veedu En Kanavar (1990). Through the recommendation of S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, whose son, S. P. Charan, was a classmate of his, he was cast in his first lead role in the Telugu romantic drama Prema Pusthakam (1993), which remains his only Telugu film to date. However, the shoot of the film was stalled soon after production began, following the death of the film's director, Gollapudi Srinivas. As a result, his first major theatrical release was the Tamil romantic drama Amaravathy (1993), which Kumar had signed after being recommended to director Selvaa by Balasubrahmanyam, who had seen parts of Prema Pusthakam prior to its delay. As the film went into post-production, Kumar was bed-ridden due to a racing injury while training for an amateur motor race. He underwent three major surgeries resulting in bed rest for one and a half years. As a result, his voice in the film was dubbed by actor Vikram. Following the injury, Kumar was keen to make up for lost time and signed on to play supporting roles. In the following years, he played character roles in the Arvind Swami-starrer Paasamalargal (1994) and Vijay-starrer Rajavin Parvaiyile (1995). He was also seen in the family drama Pavithra (1994), which featured him as an ailing patient shown maternal affection by Radhika's character.
Kumar's first commercially successful film as a lead actor was the romantic thriller Aasai (1995). The film, directed by Vasanth and produced by Mani Ratnam featured him in the lead role opposite Suvalakshmi, whose brother-in-law lusts for her. It performed well at the box office and established Kumar as an upcoming actor in the Tamil film industry. Aasai also earned him his first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil. He later played a college student in Kalloori Vaasal, co-starring Prashanth and Pooja Bhatt. Kumar's second successful film came in the form of National Award winning Kadhal Kottai, in which Kumar reunited with Agathiyan, the director of the earlier project Vaanmathi. The film paired him opposite Devayani, with Heera Rajgopal playing a supporting role.
In 1997, Kumar appeared in five consecutive failures. During the same period, he had entered into the film distribution business and had experienced losses as a result. Describing the period as a "cruel time", Kumar also continued to have chronic back injuries and several of his other film commitments had become delayed. A notable project among the five films was Amitabh Bachchan's Tamil production Ullaasam (1997), in which he was paid a high salary of for the first time.
Kumar returned in 1998 with another big, successful project in Saran's Kaadhal Mannan, an action romantic comedy, setting the foundation for an expanding fan base. He also began acting in Vasanth's Nerukku Ner, and was later replaced by debutant Suriya. Kumar's next films Aval Varuvala and Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen also became successes, with the former pairing him with Simran for the first time and the latter featuring him in a guest role alongside Karthik. Except for Uyirodu Uyiraga, which performed poorly, his other three films released in 1998 were successful hits.
1999–2008 Kumar started 1999 with Ramesh Khanna's Thodarum and Sundar C's romantic drama Unnaithedi opposite Malavika. S. J. Suryah's thriller Vaalee, which portrayed Kumar in a dual role for the first time in his career, became one of his biggest hits at that time. The film told the story of a deaf-mute brother setting his eyes on his younger brother's wife, with Kumar's portrayal of the two brothers winning him his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil. Furthermore, Ajith's portrayal of the brothers was also praised, with critics claiming that the film was an "instant classic", with Kumar showing that he is a "talented actor". The two following roles in the drama films Anandha Poongatre and Nee Varuvai Ena also brought Kumar plaudits for his portrayals, with the latter film featuring him in a guest role alongside Parthiban. His 25th and final film before the new millennium was Amarkkalam, directed by Saran and featuring Shalini, whom he married shortly after the film. Amarkkalam told the story of a neglected child who grew up and failed to show feelings of love and affection, becoming a gangster in the process, with Kumar's depiction of his rogue character appreciated by critics.
His first film of the new millennium, Mugavaree, won him commercial and critical praise. The film revolved around the life of a struggling music composer who faces sacrifices to proceed in his career. The film featured dual endings, one with Kumar succeeding in his career, the other with Kumar dejected. Kumar's performance was yet again praised with critics from Rediff, claiming that "Ajith is the real winner", drawing an allusion with the film's script, whilst adding that "it is amazing to see how Ajith has grown as an actor. He brilliantly portrays the vulnerable and sad Sridhar". He also appeared in A. R. Rahman's 2000 multi-starrer Kandukondain Kandukondain, directed by Rajiv Menon. The film featured Kumar alongside prominent actors Mammooty and Abbas and actresses Tabu and Aishwarya Rai. In a similar role to his previous film, Kumar played a struggling film director facing an oscillating relationship with Tabu, with the pair being unanimously praised for their roles. After giving six straight hits in 1999, and having had Mugavaree and Kandukondain Kandukondain in 2000 as successes, Kumar had an unsuccessful film, Unnai Kodu Ennai Tharuven, co-starring Simran.
In 2001, Kumar appeared in three commercially successful films. Dheena, co-starring Laila and Suresh Gopi, released at Pongal and marked the beginning of a new image of Kumar as an action hero who would appeal to the masses. He earned the nickname, "Thala" (Leader), from this film. In the same year, he was offered a role in Nandhaa, which he rejected and was later replaced by Suriya, the eldest son of actor Sivakumar. His next was the much-hyped thriller Citizen, portraying him in ten get-ups and it became a commercial success at the box office. A role in the family drama Poovellam Un Vasam followed opposite Jyothika and was a critical and commercial success, earning him the Tamil Nadu State Film Special Award and his third nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil. The year ended off with a brief appearance in Santosh Sivan's Hindi project Asoka, in which Kumar played as one of the antagonist against Shah Rukh Khan, which did not perform well. In 2002, Kumar appeared in three films, the first two, Red and Raja being box office disappointments, the former further building up his image as an action hero. The third film Villain, directed by K. S. Ravikumar, portrayed Kumar in a dual role, one as a mentally disabled person and another as a caring brother. The film emerged as a commercial success and earned him his second Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil.
From 2003 through 2005, Kumar appeared in fewer films due to his career in motor racing becoming more prominent. 2003 saw the release of his long-delayed Ennai Thalatta Varuvala and the police drama Anjaneya, both failing commercially. In that period, three successful films, namely Saamy, Kaakha Kaakha and Ghajini, were turned away by the actor due to various reasons.
His next film, Jana with Sneha, also became a big failure, with the Saran film Attagasam, being his only hit in the period. The film saw Kumar portray a dual role, with a song "Thala Deepavali", penned to promote his action image. In 2005, the failure of the Linguswamy film Ji, despite garnering positive reviews and taking a strong opening, saw Kumar take a sabbatical from acting to re-work his image. Of the five films released between 2003 and 2005, his only box office hit was Attagasam.