Actor Name: Ajith

Actor Full Name: Ajith Kumar

Titles: Lucky Star, Ultimate Star.

Height: 5′ 11″

Brought up in: Chennai

Mother tongue: Tamil

Family: Subramaniam-Father, Mohini-Mother, tow brothers and Shalini-Wife

Date of birth: May 1st 1971

First Film: Prema Pusthagam in Telugu and Amaravathi in Tamil

Favourite Dress: Jeansand T-Shirt

Favourite Holidays spot: London

Special Talent: Racing

Awards

Dinakaran Cinema Award, Film fare Award for the film Vaali 1999, Film fare Award and Dinakaran Cinema Award for the film Villan in 2003, Best New Face Award from Bharatmuni Art Academy for his debut film Prema Pusthakam (Telugu). Ajith is also a recipient of Cinema Express Best Artiste Award.

Being the middle son of three children, Ajith was boron, to Sindhi mother and Palghat Tamil lyer father. He dropped out of Asan Memorial Sr. Sec.

School in 1986, to become a 2/4 wheeler mechanic, part-time and garment exporter, full-time.Since then gradually working his way into modeling for advertis due to Business exigencies and print media and into Tamil films. After the surgery for his broken vertebra he lost feeling in his legs. Then he recovered and walked all the way form his home in Madras to the Balaji Shrine in Tirupathi in Andhra Pradesh.

In Hyderabad India, where he began his career doing various jobs while attending a theatre for stage plays in Andhra Pradesh. Ajith hit big in move Aasai in 1995 after three years of acting in minor roles and small-budget ventures in Indian films.

After his first blockbuster, he as acted in over forty Indian films, with his main option being the Tamil Cinema industry earning him the prestigious title of Ultimate Star in 1999 Ajith is now one of the most popular actor in South India with fan bases worldwide beating the number of fans for Rajinikanth. He is now married to Shalini who is also a Indian actress.

One of Ajith hobbies is motor car racing, before retiring in 2005,  he took part in Formula 3 championship for the minor outfit, Mango Racing.  He as India’s third best friver after Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandok in 2004.

As a celebrity and an accomplished dramatic actor he won several awards at a regional award including State Awards from Tamil Nadu. He performed predominantly in leading roles in high budget and major studio films after that.

He was now for movies ranging from romantic comedies and drama to science fiction and action thrillers.

Actor Name: Simbhu

Actor Full Name: Silambarasan Rajendran

Nick Name: Chimbu,Simbu, Little superstar

Date of birth: February 3rd, 1983 

Profession: Actor

 Place of birth: Chennai

School: The Ashram

Education: Completed an audio engineering course

Father : T.Rajendar- actor, producer, director, politician etc

Mother : Usha Rajendar – former actress

Sister: Ilakiya

Brother: Kuralarasan

Aunt: Swarna mukhi – a great dancer

Debut: As a childartist – ‘Uravaikkaaththa Kili’, As a Hero – ‘Kadhal Azhivadillai’

Experience: 19 films as a child artist

Mentor: His father – T.Rajendar

Music Director: Was a Co-Music Director in the film ‘Monisha’

Screenplay Writer: Penned the story and screenplay for the movie ‘Manmadhan’

Favourite actors: Rajinikanth, Jackie Chan

Favourite food: Non – vegetarian

Dream: “There is a long way for me to go and I dream of doing good characters in future”

Silambarasan Rajendran is a prominent Tamil film actor, film director, playback singer and song writer.  He is known fondly by his fans as Simbhu and Little Super Star. Simbhu was a popular face in Indian television even before he made his maiden film debut.

He acted in Tamil films as a junior artist in projects like Monisha En Monalisa, Shabash Babu, Rajadi Rajavan, and Thiruvalla in minor roles. Simbhu’s debut in movies as a hero came in the form of Kaadhal Azhavitazhallai, a Tamil language movie also debuting Charmi, a popular Telugu actress.

The film, Kaadhal Azhavitazhallai, was highly hyped but the film flopped at the box-office and it was followed by Dhum and Kuthu with Rakshitha and Ramya respectively. These films also flopped at the box-office and criticism was heaped on Simbhu for his self-acclaimed title of Little Superstar and his deliberate copying of actions which were normally used by the Tamil superstar, Rajinikanth.

 The move Alai with Trisha Krishnan followed, it became his first film to run over 50 days at a cinema but once again he faced controversy due to some scenes between Trisha Krishnan and himself. Simbhu next film, Kovil with Sonia Agarwal was an average grosser at the box-office. He then took a year’s break to concentrate on Manmadhan project, which he wrote the screenplay for.

This move starred Jyothika, Mandira Bedi and Yana Gupta opposite him and the film became a runaway triumph at the box-office breaking many records especially in Madurai and it ran for 275 days in Kollywood.

The move earned rave reviews and changed many peoples minds about Simbhu’s career. Simbhu next film, Thotti Jaya also was a big hit, in which he had paired with Gopika.

For Thotti Jaya Simbhu sported a black beard in the role of an orphaned gangster who finds love.

Saravana was released in 2006 and after the success of Manmadhan, he paired up with Jyothika to act in the film directed by K.S. Ravikumar. The film was a hit despite being released with Paramasivan and Aadhi, which it eventually ran for 100 days. Simbhu decided to turn director in Vallavan, which has become the most anticipated film of the year of 2006 and it was released on Diwali 2006 and stared Nayantara, Reema Sen and Sandhya alongside himself. Simbhu has also written the screenplay and has also sung 2 songs in the film.

Simbhu will act in Aezhumazhai vs Chitra with Asin Thottumkal in a forthcoming project in 2007. Simbhu was also a part of Mani Ratnam’s stage show, Netru, Indru, Naalai alongside many other co-stars.

Simbu as shown in the wallpaper for the film, Manmadhan Simbu Silambarasan was born to a famous Kollywood couple, T. Rajendar and Usha, they were both actors. Simbu’s has a younger brother, Kuralarasan who appears as a child actor in several films. Simbu’s sister, Illakya, is a college student at Loyola College, where he had also completed his education.

At Ashram school, Simbu studied with the Tamil actor, Rajinikanth’s daughter, Aishwarya. Both were rumoured to be in an affair before she disbanded with him.

Aishwarya later married, rival actor, Dhanush. Simbu was apparently not invited to the wedding and was left fuming over this. Manmadhan dealt with the story of lovers cheating and Simbu refused to deny claims that it was based around his childhood love, Aishwarya and no comment was made from either side.

During the first photo shoot of Vallavan, there was another controversial picture of Simbu biting Nayantara’s lips. Since then, they confirmed on several interviews they are in love with one another, but on November 20, 2006 she stated their separation for personal reasons.

Simbu also in Vallavan decided to give much more scope and praise to Nayantara than to Sandhya or Reema Sen. Reema Sen has recently criticized Simbu for favoring Nayantara during film shootings, and she has also revealed that the project, Vallavan had stopped her from signing other projects.

Actor Name: Madhavan

Actor Full Name: Ranganathan Madhavan

Nick Name: Maddy

Family:Ranganathan-Faterh, Saroja-Mother, Sarita-Wife, Vedant- Son and Devika- Younger Sister

Date of birth: 1st of June 1970

Birth Place:Jamshedpur, India

Nationality: Indian

Height: 6’1″

Eye Colour: Black

Language: Tamil, Hindi and English

Profession: Actor and Model

First Film: Shanthi Shanthi Shanthi (Kannada), Alaipayuthey (Tamil) and Rehna Tere Dil Me (Hindi Debut)

Awards

R. Madhavan, also called Maddy is a prominent regional Indian film actor, a game show host, a mobile game character and an active PETA campaigner. Madhavan started to act in Hindi television serials and appear in advertisements and commercials before he started his film acting career.    He also currently acts in regional industries across India with the Tamil film industry being his main focus. Madhavan has acted in Hindi films, English films, Telugu films, Malayalam cinem, the Kannada film industry and the Bengali film industry.

Madhavan is known by his fans as the Chocolate Hero Madhavan’s breakout role as a leading actor came two years later after his film career began with 2000′s Alaipayuthey by director, Mani Ratnam, which he became a pin-up boy after Madhavan’s performance as Karthik.

The film, gave him a solid foundation to build his career and several other films he has starred in, have become blockbusters in South India, due to this he also built up a prominent market for Madhavan’s films in Bollywood and in overseas markets.

As a seasoned actor, he began to take on more varied roles and projects, including another Mani Ratnam film, Aayitha Ezhuthu where he portrayed the gangster, Inba. While filming for Ramji Londonwale, he caught the eye of UTV, and became a game host in, Deal Ya No Deal, but it only lasted for one series. R. Madhavan is a prominent figure in India’s entertainment business.

Madhavan’s parents are Ranganathan and Saroja and his sister named Devika . his father, Ranganathan is an ex-army man. Madhavan’s mother, Saroja Ranganathan is a homemaker. Madhavan’s youngest sister, Devika is an aspiring model. In 1988, Madhavan was chosen to represent India as its cultural ambassador from his college to Canada after his graduation.

At the age of 22, Madhavan was awarded the Maharashtra Best Cadet enabling him to make a trip with three others as MCC Cadets to England, because of this honour, Madhavan received training with the Royal Army, Navy and the Air Force but it was to no avail.   

Madhavan then initiated a ten-day crash course on Public Speaking course; this is where he met his future wife Saritha. Madhavan is married to Saritha, a former air hostess whom he married after 3 years of courtship. Madhavan and Saritha have a son Vedaant who was born in 2006. Madhavan who is a self-confessed animal lover and an advertiser for PETA, personally owns two dogs, named Simbha and Princess and he also owns a parrot.

 Madhavan has recently moved property near the Boat Club area of Chennai from his rented house in Kilpauk.Madhavan shares great rapport with several experienced actors in the industry especially Mani Ratnam and Kamal Haasan whom both have worked with Madhavan in several projects each.Madhavan is well known for his vegetarianism and has advertised several brands.   

Madhavan then initiated a ten-day crash course on Public Speaking course; this is where he met his future wife Saritha. Madhavan is married to Saritha, a former air hostess whom he married after 3 years of courtship. Madhavan and Saritha have a son Vedaant who was born in 2006. Madhavan who is a self-confessed animal lover and an advertiser for PETA, personally owns two dogs, named Simbha and Princess and he also owns a parrot.

 Madhavan has recently moved property near the Boat Club area of Chennai from his rented house in Kilpauk.Madhavan shares great rapport with several experienced actors in the industry especially Mani Ratnam and Kamal Haasan whom both have worked with Madhavan in several projects each.Madhavan is well known for his vegetarianism and has advertised several brands.   

Madhavan then initiated a ten-day crash course on Public Speaking course; this is where he met his future wife Saritha. Madhavan is married to Saritha, a former air hostess whom he married after 3 years of courtship. Madhavan and Saritha have a son Vedaant who was born in 2006. Madhavan who is a self-confessed animal lover and an advertiser for PETA, personally owns two dogs, named Simbha and Princess and he also owns a parrot.

 Madhavan has recently moved property near the Boat Club area of Chennai from his rented house in Kilpauk.Madhavan shares great rapport with several experienced actors in the industry especially Mani Ratnam and Kamal Haasan whom both have worked with Madhavan in several projects each.Madhavan is well known for his vegetarianism and has advertised several brands.

Madhavan then initiated a ten-day crash course on Public Speaking course; this is where he met his future wife Saritha. Madhavan is married to Saritha, a former air hostess whom he married after 3 years of courtship. Madhavan and Saritha have a son Vedaant who was born in 2006. Madhavan who is a self-confessed animal lover and an advertiser for PETA, personally owns two dogs, named Simbha and Princess and he also owns a parrot.

 Madhavan has recently moved property near the Boat Club area of Chennai from his rented house in Kilpauk.Madhavan shares great rapport with several experienced actors in the industry especially Mani Ratnam and Kamal Haasan whom both have worked with Madhavan in several projects each.Madhavan is well known for his vegetarianism and has advertised several brands.

Madhavan then initiated a ten-day crash course on Public Speaking course; this is where he met his future wife Saritha. Madhavan is married to Saritha, a former air hostess whom he married after 3 years of courtship. Madhavan and Saritha have a son Vedaant who was born in 2006. Madhavan who is a self-confessed animal lover and an advertiser for PETA, personally owns two dogs, named Simbha and Princess and he also owns a parrot.

 Madhavan has recently moved property near the Boat Club area of Chennai from his rented house in Kilpauk.Madhavan shares great rapport with several experienced actors in the industry especially Mani Ratnam and Kamal Haasan whom both have worked with Madhavan in several projects each.Madhavan is well known for his vegetarianism and has advertised several brands.

Madhavan then initiated a ten-day crash course on Public Speaking course; this is where he met his future wife Saritha. Madhavan is married to Saritha, a former air hostess whom he married after 3 years of courtship. Madhavan and Saritha have a son Vedaant who was born in 2006. Madhavan who is a self-confessed animal lover and an advertiser for PETA, personally owns two dogs, named Simbha and Princess and he also owns a parrot.

 Madhavan has recently moved property near the Boat Club area of Chennai from his rented house in Kilpauk.Madhavan shares great rapport with several experienced actors in the industry especially Mani Ratnam and Kamal Haasan whom both have worked with Madhavan in several projects each.Madhavan is well known for his vegetarianism and has advertised several brands.

Actor Nick Name: Dhanush 

Real Name: Prabhu Kastoorirajan

Birth Name: Venkat Prabhu

Date of birth: February 25, 1978

Birth Place: Chennai, India

Nationality: Indian

Star Sign:  Pisces

Eye Colour: Brown

Hair Colour:  Light Brown

Father: Kasthuri Raja

Brother: Selvaraghavan

Spouse: Aishwarya

Venkat Prabhu is a popular Indian actor who appears in Kollywood films under the screen name Dhanush.At the age of 20, he made his Kollywood debut in the film Thulluvadho Illamai in 2002, which was directed by his brother Selvaraghavan.  

This movie was a surprisingly huge success and started his career in the industry. This was followed by Kadhal Kondein and Thiruda Thirudi (2003), both of which turned out to be successful at the box office.

With these continuous string of blockbuster his salary skyrocketed to Rs.30 million per film.

However succeeding films tumbled one by one and his career seemed to be have come to a standstill until the release of Pudhupettai. His action venture Sullan (2004) started good but then turned out to be a box office failure. His other films Pudhukottaiyill Irindhu Saravanan, Dreams (2004), Adhu Oru Kana Kaalam (2005) did poorly at the box office.

After a long spell of low budget films, he came back with the Pudhupettai (Dhoolpet in Telugu) which was again directed by his brother but that flopped. However he came back with a blockbuster in 2005 with, Thiruvilayadal Arambam.

His upcoming films are Parattai alias Azhagu Sundaram and Desiya Nedunchalai.

Actor Nick Name: Arya

Real Name: Jamshad

Date of birth: 11th December 1980

Birth Place: Trikaripur, India

Complexion: Fair

Height: 5′ 9″

Hair Color: Black

Eye Color: Light Brown

Mother Tongue: Malayalam

Nationality: Indian

Studied in School: SBOA Matriculation and Higher Secondary School, Chennai

Studied in College: Computer Engineering from Crescent Engineering College in

Chennai

Profession before Acting: Modelling

Brothers: 2 Younger brothers, Sathya (Shahir) and Razi

Languages Acted: Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu

Facts: He owns a production company named “The Show People”

First Film: Ullam Ketkumae

First Film Released: Arinthum Ariyamalum

Awards: Best New Male Face Award at the Filmfare Awards for movie “Arinthum Ariyamalum”

Family Business: His family owns a restaurant “Sea Shell” at Anna Nagar in Chennai

Jamshad popularly known as Arya, (born 11 December 1980) is a Malayalee-born Indian movie actor who has appeared in Tamil films.

Arya started off as a computer engineer,his passion for filming brought him to modelling before debuting in Jeeva’s Ullam Ketkumae which also marked the debuts of Asin Thottumkal and Pooja Umashankar.

The film also starred Laila and Shaam, but the film was delayed only releasing after Arinthum Ariyamalum. In Arinthum Ariyamalum, Arya played as son to Prakash Raj in a critically acclaimed role which won him Best New Male Face Award at the Filmfare Awards.Arinthum Ariyamalum and Ullam Ketkumae both made it large at the box-office.

Oru Kalluriyin Kathai also made it big at the box-office and Arya was touted as the next pin-up boy of Kollywood. His next, Kalabhak Kadhalan was an average grosser in Kollywood as it shared a striking resemblance, with the Kollywood’s all time best thriller.

His forthcoming projects are: Oram Poo and Xerox with Pooja Umashankar, and Naan Kadavul with Bhavana Balachandran.

Actor Nick Name: Bharath   

Date of birth: July 21st 1983

Mother Tongue: Tamil

Religion: Hindu

Nationality: Indian

Profession: Actor

Father: Srinivasan

Mother: Lakshmi

School: DAV

College: New college

Debut Tamil: Boys

Debut  Malayalam: 4 the People

Debut Telugu: Yuvaseena

Favourite Actors:Vijay and Ajith, Russel Crowe and Mel Gibson.

Favourite Actress: Simran and Jyothika

Favourite Music: Hip hop, rock and Indian folk.

Favourite Movies:Nayakan,Indian

Hobbies: Dancing,music, gym, travelling, roaming

Bharath (born July 21st, 1983) is a brilliant Kollywood actor. A trained dancer by profession, his luck brought him into movies. He debuted in Boys directed by S. Shankar. The film was a musical hit and it fared well in box-office. 

He then acted in the remake of the Malayalam film 4 the people, 4 Students which was a musical hit and was a blockbuster in Kerala. One of his recent movies Kaadhal by a debutant director (assistant of S. Shankar) and Produced by Shankar was a blockbuster of the year. Kaadhal was well received everywhere and his performance as the naive but sweet lover was highly praised. His film Pattiyal, brought him even more great recognition for playing a dumb and deaf lover.

His latest releases are Chennai Kadhal and Veyil both released on December 8, 2006. He has received great accolades and the film is a hit. He was also a part of Mani Ratnam’s stage show, Netru, Indru, Naalai.

His next projects are Killadi directed by Salem A. Chandrasekharan , Nepali, directed by Dhurai, and an untitled movie with director Ravikumar. Bharath’s forthcoming Tamil release Khilladi is going to be dubbed in telugu too.

Actor Nick Name: Cheran (director)

Cheran is a Tamil film director and actor, who has a reputation for directing and producing culturally strong films. His movies are characterised by their realism and the strong social messages that they convey. He has won the National Award twice, one for Most Entertaining Film in 2004 (for Autograph) and the other for Vetri Kodi Kattu (which won Best Film of 2000 dealing with social issues).

Born at Pazhaiyurpatty, near Melur in Madurai district, Tamil Nadu. His father was a cinema (machine) operator and his mother was a school nursery school teacher. Cheran nurtured his acting skills by the stage dramas enacted in those days during local festival seasons.

He went on grooming himself and his dreams by undergoing self-designed rehearsals by himself standing in front of the mirror, speaking out the film dialogues of Sivaji Ganesan, which he carried out with the accompanying acting gestures.He was worn out after he ran away from home to Chennai with dreams of becoming an actor.

As his endless chasings after people and cinema studios for getting cinema chances proved to be failures, his hopes were shattered. At last, putting an end to his day-dreaming of becoming a film actor, he succeeded in turning his attention towards the other sides of film-making.

He learnt the art of film direction under the mentorship of director K.S Ravikumar.He earned the reputation of remaining a good film director capable of making quality films. This became possible only through his directional ventures, starting from Bharathi Kannamma to Paandavar Boomi. While directing Paandavar Boomi he demonstrated to the artistes how to enact their part.

The film’s cameraman Thangarbachchaan noticed this and identified the actor in him during such instances and introduced him as an actor in Solla Marantha Kathai. The people, on their part, have accepted him as an actor too. Cheran is a person who is against selling pirated VCD’s. He conducted raids in his own style to stop them.Cheran began his career as an assistant to K.S. Ravikumar. The young man caught the attention of the film producer, Henry.

Henry was the producer of the Malayalam film Yavanika directed by K.G. George. Consequent to the success of that movie,he made his entry into Tamil Cinema with Kolangal, a subject based on a girl rescued from the red light area in Mumbai who faces social problems back home in Chennai. Henry insisted that the film should not only be commercial but also have a strong social theme.

Actor Nick Name: Jeeva

Birth Name: Amar Choudary

Date of birth: January 4, 1984

Birth Place: Chennai, Tamilnadu, India

Eye Colour: Brown

Height: 5’11″

Father: R.B. Chowdry

Mother: Mahijabeen

Brother: Suresh, Jeevanand Ramesh

School Days: Adarsh Senior Secondary School, Chennai

Languages:  Tamil, Hindi, English

Hobbies:  Listening to music, watching films, playing cricket, playing comuter games

Favourite Directors: Mani Rathnam, Vikraman, Shankar,

Favourite Stars: Rajini, Kamal

Favourit colour: Black and White

Favourite Food:  South Indian Dishes, Anything cooked by my Mom, burgers, pizzas

Favourite Sports:  Badminton, Cricket

Profession: Acotr and Model

First Movie: Aasai Aasaiyai

Jeeva is an upcoming actor. He is the son of known Indian film producer, R B Choudary.   Jeeva debut performance as a film hero was his father’s 50th production, Aasai Aasaiyai. Jeeva 2nd film Thithikuthe, a Tamil remake of Uday Kiran’s Telugu film Manasanta Nuvve, was also from his fathers banner, Super Good Films. Jeeva has three older brothers: B.Sursh is the joint producer in Super Good Films. Another brother Jeevan is a business magnate. Next is Ramesh.   Jeeva is also an actor, now known as Githan Ramesh. Jeeva started off as a child star in 2 of his father’s film productions, one of them being the Sarath Kumar blockbuster Sooryavamsam. Audiences remember Jeeva as the cute boy who brought an estranged father and son together in Sooryavamsam. 

He is the youngest and inarguably the cutest with the boyish charms and killer smile that made people stand up to notice in his debut film Aasai Aasaiyai itself. Jeeva’s father, R B Choudary, produced numerous films, introduced now-famous directors and heroes and is a noted South Indian film producer despite having Hindi as mother tongue and hailing from Rajasthan, a north Indian state.After Aasai Aasaiyai and Thittikudhey, which were romantic Tamil flops, he found himself in a spot of bother, with no good film offers coming his way. Then in 2005, he came back with the mega blockbuster Raam which put him in contention with other young actors in Kollywood like Jayam Ravi, Bharath and Silambarasan. Raam was a one-of-a-kind Tamil movie by critically acclaimed director of the 2002 sleeper hit Mounam Pesiyathe, Ameer Sultan; it falls in the genre of a murder mystery thriller, yet it is primarily a character study. He played Ramakrishna, an autistic schoolboy, desired by the rich girl next door and later accused by her father for murdering his own mother.

Jeeva hardly talked throughout the movie, letting his body language demonstrate his character. The movie was one of the highest grossing movies of the year, it was screened at Indian Panorama and later at the Cyprus International Film Festival(CIFF), where it won two awards – the Best Actor award for Jeeva and the Best Musical Score Award for its Music director Yuvan Shankar Raja. For 22-year old, it was not only the first International Award he received, but also his first ever acting award. The only other time a Tamil actor received an international award was when Legendary actor Sivaji Ganesan received the Best Actor Award for his film in 1959, Veerapandiya Kattabomman, at the Afro-Asian International Film Festival in Cairo, Egypt in 1960.

Thanks to Raam and Jeeva, this was indeed an honour for Kollywood in 21st century. From then onwards, he has had a successful stint in Dishyum with Kaadhal actress, Sandhya, proving a musical hit. Jeeva played another different role in Dishyum, that of a stuntman in films, this role was different from usual heroic roles in Tamil Cinema. Although the title Dishyum gave viewers the impression of an action-packed film, Dishyum was predominantly a romance between that of a cocksure stuntman and a practical arts student.

This film won accolades due to the remarkable acting and an impressionable direction by Sasi, director of former hits such as Sollamalae and Roja Kootam.  Among his films, Raam, Dishyum, Keerthi Chakra and E are the ones that have done well at the box office. Jeeva’s flops include Aasai Aasaiyai, Thittikudhey, and Pori. Hence, his hits and misses are balanced. Aran was not a flop it was considered a success and his upcoming films are Thamizh MA, Thenavattu and Rameswaram. Jeeva is considered a better actor than his brother Ramesh.

Actor Nick Name: Mammootty

Birth Name: Muhammed Kutty

Date of birth: September 7th, 1953

Parents: Krishna and Indira Devi

Brother: Ramesh Babu

Sister: Padmavathi, Manjula and Priyadarshini

Edution: B.Com., Loyola College, Chennai

Favorite Hero: Super Star Krishna

Favorite Heroine: Sri Devi

Favorite Game: Cricket

Mammootty as Muhammed Kutty at Chempu near Vaikom, Kottayam (district, Kerala) is a popular Indian film actor. He has acted in more than 300 films, which is most of them in Malayalam cinema. He is the recipient of 4 National film awards for Best Actor, five State awards and 5 Filmfare awards in the best actor category. He was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1998 and he is called as the Super Star of Malayalam Cinema along with Mohanlal. Mammootty is rated as one of the talented actors in Indian film indusrty. He is also the current Chairman of TV channel Kairali.

He was born to Ismail (an agriculturist) and Fatima (a homemaker). Mammootty has two younger brothers, Ibrahim and Zakariah; and three sisters, Ameena, Sauda and Shafina. Mammootty received his education from Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam and then studied law at Ernakulam Government Law College.

It was during his days at Maharajah’s that Mammootty got his first role in Anubhavangal Paalichakal (1971). He practised as a lawyer in Manjeri, Kerala for two years.

He got married in 1980 to his wife, Sulfath, and has a daughter, Surmi and a son, Dulquar Salman. Mammootty first film as an actor, Devalokam (World of Gods), was not released in theatres. Famous writer and auteur M. T. Vasudevan Nair and Film director K. G. George played an important part in his career.

Mammootty’s talent was noticed in films like Vilkanundu Swapnangal directed by M T Vasudevan Nair and films like Mela and Yavanika, by K.G George. One thing that sets him apart from his contemporaries is the fact that from the beginning itself, he has been able to treat both art-house cinema and commercial potboilers with ease.

He made his mark during the early period of his career itself by enacting roles in films of stalwarts like M. T. Vasudevan Nair, K.G. George, Padmarajan, P.N. Menon, and Bharathan. Later on his talent was utilized by internationally renowned directors like Adoor Gopalakrishnan, T. V. Chandran, and Pavithran. Mammootty was a regular in movies of Harikumar, Mohan, et al.

The movies by M.T. Vasudevan Nair and Padmarajan, arguably among the best of Malayalam writer-directors, widened Mammootty’s acting horizon. It may be mentioned that two of M.T. Vasudevan’s movies which bear his autobiographical elements were enacted by Mammootty – Aksharangal and Sukrutham (Harikumar).

The film New Delhi, directed by Joshy, was a turning point in his career and the film was based on the novel, The Almighty by Irving Wallace. The hero’s portrayal of a victimized journalist, who systematically took revenge on politicians who beguiled him, was noticed and well accepted well by the masses. By then he had achieved superstardom.

His, Oru CBI Diary kurippu, was also a major landmark in the history of Malayalam Cinema. It brought to fore a new concept of an investigative thriller, fresh presentation of politicians and above all a refreshing idea of the hero.The film went on to create box-office history in Kerala.

Following the success of the first CBI film three more murder mysteries sequels were produced with the same cast of characters: Jaagrutha (1989), Sethurama Iyer CBI (2004) and Nerariyan C.B.I (2005, all directed by K Madhu, with Mammootty as Sethurama Iyer, an efficient but unassuming CBI officer.

He touched the pinnacle of his career in [[Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha]] (roughly translated as northern heroic folklore), again an M. T. Vasudevan Nair creation. His depiction of a Chekavan of distinguished velour but vilified by circumstances won him the top honors of the country, National Award for best acting.

His histrionics matched the literary genius of M. T. in each and every minute detail. It was his acting talent, coupled with his willingness to go to any extent to rationally portray the roles that enabled him to act in both offbeat and commercial movies.

He became almost a regular face in Adoor Gopalakrishna’s films. Mammootty starred in three of his movies, Anantharam (Thenceforth), Mathilukal (alls) and Vidheyan (The Servile) and the easiness with which he illustrated on screen the protagonist in Mathilukkal(based on Mathilukal, a novel by the Malayalam literary genius Vaikom Muhammad Basheer) was also instrumental in getting him his first National Award for Best Actor. His performance in two commercially off-beat movies, Ponthan Mada by TV Chandran, and Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Vidheyan won him the award for the second time. His performance in Ambedkar, an English movie by Jabbar Patel, won him the National award for a third time.

Mammootty is also a recipient of Padma Shri, one of the highest civilian awards in India. Mammootty had briefly crossed the boundaries of Malayalam cinema and acted in Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi films. Though he proved that only a moderate success in Tamil after Mani Ratnam’s Thalapathi, his fan following is on par with other Tamil film stars. Mammootty’s notable successes in Tamil include Anandam by Linguswamy and Kandukondain Kandukondain by Rajiv Menon. Unfortunationaly however, his maiden Hindi film, Dhartiputra went unnoticed.

Mammootty, nonetheless made his presence felt on the national level with the biographical film on Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar Directed by Jabbar Patel. All though he has been criticised as unable to portray comic roles, his latest movies Rajamanikyam, Thommanum Makkalum, and Thuruppugulan gave a fitting reply to critics.

He, though a hugely popular star, is an exception in Indian films where dancing skills have to be a necessary part of an actor’s repertoire but the emotion and the depth that he lends to his characters makes him a well revered actor and makes up for his shortcomings.

Actor Name: Prakash Raj  

Born: March 26, 1965

Place of Birth: Mangalore, Karnataka

Occupation: actor and producer

Spouse: Lalitha Kumari (1994-2009)

              Pony Verma (2010- present)

Prakash Raj is a famous actor and producer from Karnataka in South India and  has acted in Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, and Hindi films. His original name Prakash Rai, in Kannada screen was rechristened to Prakash Raj by K. Balachander, for Prakash Raj’s, debut movie in Tamil Duet. Prakash Raj’s mother tongue is Kannada.He began his acting career with Kannada serials, like Bisilu Kudure and Guddada Bhootha. He later took up small supporting roles in Kannada films, like Raamachari, etc. Prakash Raj’s breakthrough role came in form of Harakeya Kuri starring Vishnuvardhan and Geetha.

His performance in the movie was noticed by Geetha and she in turn introduced Prakash Raj to her mentor, the noted director K. Balachander. He re-entered Kannada films with a bang through Nagamandala in 1997, directed by the award winning director T.S Nagabharana and continues to act in a number of Kannada movies every year.

He is a very famous actor in South India for a wide variety of roles that he has performed, most notably as a villain and of late, as a character artiste, in Tamil and Telugu; he is considered to be one of the most natural actors in the film industry, and has a good reputation for his acting skills. Prakash Raj was also a part of Mani Ratnam’s stage show, Netru, Indru, Naalai.

Prakash Raj has also won several awards including two national awards:

One for the Best supporting actor in Iruvar and also a special jury award for his exemplary performance in Dhaya – his first directorial venture.

 Recently Prakash Raj took on the mantle of producer and has produced 3 movies in Tamil (Kollywood). Out of the three movies he produced two are box-office hits and also are critically acclaimed. Prakash Raj’s movies are generally acclaimed by the audience as good quality movies and are also considered as family entertainers. Also as a producer Prakash Raj’s selection of movies typically have natural storylines. He is now producing a movie named Poi,lie in English, which is directed by his mentor and veteran director K. Balachander, who is incidentally directing his 101st film.

Also as a producer Prakash Raj’s selection of movies typically have natural storylines. He is now producing a movie named Poi,lie in English, which is directed by his mentor and veteran director K. Balachander, who is incidentally directing his 101st film.