Ajith Kumar (born 1 May 1971) is an Indian actor and racing driver, one of the two or three biggest stars of Tamil cinema. A school dropout who trained as a mechanic and had no connections in the film industry, he has acted in more than sixty films since 1993. He is unusual among Indian stars for shunning publicity, having dissolved his own fan clubs, and for pursuing a parallel career in international motor racing. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2025.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Ajith Kumar Subramaniam |
| Born | 1 May 1971, Hyderabad, India |
| Age | 55 |
| Occupation | Actor, racing driver |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Known for | Aasai, Kadhal Kottai, Vaali, Dheena, Billa, Mankatha, Viswasam |
| Racing | Formula BMW Asia, British Formula 3, FIA Formula Two; owner-driver, Ajith Kumar Racing |
| Honours | Padma Bhushan (2025) |
| Spouse | Shalini (m. 2000) |
| Children | 2 |
Early Life
Ajith was born in Hyderabad, the middle of three sons of P. Subramaniam, a Tamil from Palakkad, and Mohini, a Sindhi from Kolkata, and grew up in Chennai. He left the Asan Memorial school before finishing. Fascinated by engines, he apprenticed as a mechanic with a motorcycle company and then worked for a garment exporter, where he learned English and began to race motorcycles. Modelling for print advertisements to pay for his racing led to film offers.
Film Career
Beginnings
He made his debut in the Telugu film Prema Pusthakam and in Tamil with Amaravathi (1993). A racing accident soon afterwards left him bedridden with back injuries for well over a year. Aasai (1995), produced by Mani Ratnam, was his first hit, and Kadhal Kottai (1996), a romance between two people who never meet, won the National Award for best Tamil film.
Star
Vaali (1999), in which he played twin brothers, one of them a deaf-mute who covets his brother’s wife, established him as an actor, and Amarkalam, Mugavaree and Kandukondain Kandukondain followed. With A. R. Murugadoss’s Dheena (2001) he turned to action and acquired the nickname “Thala”, leader. Citizen, Villain and Varalaru kept him at the top through a period that also included several failures and further surgery.
Billa (2007), a slick remake of a Rajinikanth film, reinvented him as a stylish anti-hero, and in Mankatha (2011), his fiftieth film, he played a corrupt, grey-haired policeman with no redeeming qualities. He has since appeared with his hair undyed. His later successes include Arrambam, Veeram, Vedalam, Yennai Arindhaal, Viswasam (2019), Nerkonda Paarvai, a remake of Pink, Valimai and Thunivu. In 2025 he had two releases, Vidaamuyarchi and Good Bad Ugly, the latter among the highest-grossing Tamil films of the year.
Away from the crowd
In 2011 he disbanded his fan associations, saying he did not want his admirers used for political or personal ends, and in 2021 he asked not to be called “Thala”. He does not attend promotions or award functions and has no presence on social media.
Racing
He took part in the Formula BMW Asia championship in 2003, the British Formula 3 series in 2004 and the FIA Formula Two championship in 2010. In 2024, at fifty-three, he formed his own team, Ajith Kumar Racing, to compete in endurance events. It finished third in its class at the Dubai 24 Hours in January 2025 and went on to podium finishes at circuits in Europe, including a second place at Spa-Francorchamps. He has also been an adviser to a student drone-building team at a Chennai engineering institute, is a licensed pilot and a keen photographer and marksman.
Honours
He has won several Filmfare Awards South and Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. The President presented him with the Padma Bhushan in April 2025.
Personal Life
He married the actor Shalini, his co-star in Amarkalam, in April 2000. They have a daughter, Anoushka, and a son, Aadvik.
Featured image: Ajith Kumar at the Irungattukottai race track near Chennai, February 2010. Photo by Shridhar Devalla, licensed under CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
