30 April 2013-Ajith Kumar, the heartthrob of masses, is turning a year older tomorrow (May 1). The actor, who is fondly called by the name Thala, is staying away from Chennai as he his busy shooting his 53rd film directed by Vishnuvardhan in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. Nonetheless, it will be a festive time for the fans of Vaali star.
A one-time bike mechanic has an inspiring journey as an actor. An ambitious bike racer miraculously transformed himself as an actor and became a star. But it was not a bed of roses for him when he choose the film land. He started his career with an ill-fated Telugu film, which was halted midway following the death of the director and his first film which saw the light of day was Prema Pustakam in 1992.
After the debut Telugu film, he suffered an accident and he was forced to undergo three major surgeries. The incident took Ajith’s one and half years away as he was advised to be in bed rest. The break made him stronger and he decided to test his luck in Tamil films with Paasamalargal starring Arvind Swamy.
He did the roles of supporting characters till 1995 of which he was also seen in the character role in Illayathalapathy Vijay’s Rajavin Parvaiyile. The sign of success started after he was part of Vasanth’s Aasai produced by none other than Mani Ratnam.
The Thala’s second major hit came in the form of National Award winning Kadhal Kottai, in which he reunited with Agathiyan, the director of the earlier project Vaanmathi. He rose to stardom after 1999 where he delivered six hits in the next two years. Vaali, Mugavaree and Kandukondain Kandukondain took him to new heights.
