Happy Birthday Ajith: A look at the off-screen persona of a mega star who is a media recluse today

Today, he is Thala Ajith to his fans. He is the man who doesn’t need to market his film personally. He believes, ‘A good film is good publicity or promotion by itself’. He is probably the first star to disband his fan clubs and has even distanced himself from fans who were abusive online in the name of their favourite star. He began his film career with small roles and initially the actor did not even dub for himself. It was his Ullasam co-star Vikram who dubbed for his initial releases. He wanted to act age appropriate roles, surrounded by stars who are still playing the role of college students in their late 40s. This star has a great standing among fans who celebrate him as much for his onscreen avatars as off-screen enigma.

His successful innings began with Aasai, a romantic thriller in which he was paired opposite Suvalakshmi. The years 1998-1999 helped him establish himself in the film industry with releases like Ullasam, Unnidathil Yennai Koduthen, Kadhal Mannan, Aval Varuvala, Amarkalam, Vaali, Mugavari and Kadhal Kondein. Ajith did not do the commercial action hero roles until 2001 when he worked on films like Dheena, which marked the debut of director AR Murugadoss and bestowed the moniker ‘Thala’ on him. The film sees Ajith’s friends address him as Thala.

This was the beginning of his superstardom. He followed Dheena up with Citizen, Red, Raja and Villain, of which Red was a major failure. 2003 was bit of the slump for the actor, but here’s the thing -- this man continued to enjoy adulation from his loyal fans. One huge reason remains his humility off screen. It is, in fact, his off screen role that has fans in awe of him -- be it his blunt opinions about politics or his attitude when it comes to being forced to attend political events.

Before becoming a media recluse

It was in 2010, when at a felicitation ceremony for the then CM Karunanidhi, Ajith took to the stage to tell the statesman that he must stop the practice of actors being forced to attend such political functions. Rajinikanth supported him with a standing ovation and this was reported extensively then. Such honesty brought him a lot of trouble, but through it all, he stood strong. His fans supported him and that is how he made a comeback with director Vishnuvardhan’s Billa.

It has been sometime since the actor has attended public events or given interviews. But there was a time when he was candid and has spoken about his stance on politics and his fans.

In an interview to Times of India, he had said, “This has nothing to do with the industry or the culture. This is something that I wanted to do, especially with the nexus between politics and the industry being so strong. I am aware that fans of mine come from different walks of life. And I want my fans to do well, but they need to understand that there is life beyond movies. This is entertainment, don’t take it too seriously. As an individual, you have every right to express your political preference. As fans, be united and come and watch my film. I received a lot of support when I took this decision. I’m very grateful to my fans that they accepted my decision and understood why I did it. With social networking, you are free to express yourself and I will take it as constructive criticism. You don’t need an organization to be a fan. If you love me, say a prayer for me.”

Off screen passion: Cars, photography and cooking

A scene from Ajith’s last film Vivegam.

Off screen, he also did a bit of professional racing, won a few accolades for this and supposedly has a great collection of superbikes. He brought this passion to his films as well. For instance, there is a scene in 2011 film Mankatha and recently Vivegam, where he is seen performing his own bike stunts. It was because of him that salt and pepper look became a ‘hot favourite’ among men.

He loves cooking as well. One of the things that one would hear about Ajith from his co-stars is his cooking skills. He has even cooked for his crew of Yennai Arindhaal -- that is about a 100 members – and served them.

Sai sai 🙏🙏🙏Wishing thala ajith sir great happiness as professional photographer also🙏ajithKumarphotography @ focus art gallery ttk road 🙏🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/it42YTBsos

— siva+director (@directorsiva) August 17, 2017

The Vivegam actor also loves photography. In fact, before the release of his film Vivegam, an exhibition of photographs clicked by him was organised. From pictures of locations where he shot his film to others, they were all on display and director Siva shared a picture on his Twitter account and wrote, “Sai sai. Wishing thala ajith sir great happiness as professional photographer also ajithKumarphotography @ focus art gallery ttk road.”

While other stars’ images are influenced solely by their films and the gossip mill, Ajith has more than one dimension. He had his fair share of rumours printed, but that is not what people remember today. He is more than his characters, looks and films.

Author tweets @Priyanka_S_MCC
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