Ajith Kumar’s success formula DECODED!

With his dashing personality and amazing acting chops, Ajith Kumar is a name to reckon with in South cinema. The superstar has several blockbusters to his credit. In fact, his previous outing Viswasam, which opened in cinemas this January, has earned over Rs 200 crore. The Tamil action drama also set behind Rajinikanth’s Petta, Vijay’s Sarkar and Prabhas’ Baahubali to get the highest TRP for a South Indian film, when it premiered on the small screen. 

Few people known that Ajith has a Bollywood connect, too. He made his debut in Hindi cinema as the antagonist, Susima, in Santosh Sivan’s Asoka (2001), which starred Shah Rukh Khan as the Maurya dynasty emperor. Now, the 48-year-old will play a pivotal role in Nerkonda Paarvai, which is the Tamil remake of the hit 2016 Hindi film Pink. He essays the role of the lawyer, which was portrayed by Amitabh Bachchan, in the original. In fact, producer Boney Kapoor was so impressed after seeing its rushes that he hoped Ajith would do more Hindi movies. On April 10, he tweeted, “Saw the rushes of #NerkondaPaaravai. Happy... What a performance by Ajith.... I hope he agrees to do Hindi films soon. Have 3 action scripts, hope he says yes to atleast one of them. #NerkondaPaaravai #Ajithkumar,” (sic). 

Apart from being a powerhouse performer, Ajith is also a racing enthusiast. He has participated in motorcycle racing championships in India. Talking about him, Boney says, “I got to know him closely during the shoot of our Tamil film Nerkonda Paarvai. I was pleasantly surprised to know about his passion for racing and other sports. It was only natural that our next project together is a thriller that uses his passion for speed. I would love to have him in a Hindi film with an action backdrop.”

(From L-R) The poster of Pink; the poster of Nerkonda Paarvai; and Boney Kapoor

FOR THE LOVE OF RACING

Ajith loves the adrenalin rush that racing provides. He enjoys making split-second decisions with the power of the engines in his hands. In fact, early on, he realised that racing is an expensive sport. So, he turned to modelling to sponsor his passion for motor sports. He bagged his debut film, thanks to his modelling assignments. He got his break in Tamil cinema with Amaravathi (1993) that went on to became his first hit. However, post its release, Ajith injured his back while training for a motorcycle championship and had to undergo three major surgeries resulting into bed rest for the next year and half.

Ajith with his model helicopter

Post his recuperation, the award-winning actor got back to his film career and from early 2000 onwards, he started participating in F2, F3 and Asian car racing circuits. He is reportedly the only Indian actor to have competed in Formula championships. He drove in the 2003 Formula BMW Asia Championships. He went on to gain 3rd position in British Formula 3 car racing championship in 2004. He last participated in F2 championship race in 2010. Any injury at this stage would have incurred losses to his film producers, hence he decided to give up formula racing. 

From then on, he shifted his passion to aero-modelling. He then got himself certified to operate drones. He is currently getting himself trained in air pistol shooting and hopes to participate in Nationals. Clearly, Ajith is a man with myriad passions!