Personal life

Family

In early 1999, he began dating his Amarkalam co-star Shalini. Ajith's involvement with Shalini also made him a regular subject of tabloid gossip then, a role to which he was unaccustomed. They got married in 2000 in Chennai where they invited many other Kollywood actors and actresses including Rajnikanth, Kamal Hasan, Vijay, Surya and R. Madhavan. As both were of different religions Ajith being a Hindu and Shalini being a Christian, together they were married in the customs of both religions. After their marriage in the year 2000, Shalini retired as an actress and became a full time homewife. However she did accompany Ajith at the sets of his films as moral support. In 2007, the couple announced that they was set to have a baby.

Relationships

Since the start of his career in Tollywood and Kollywood, Ajith was well known for being outspoken and genuine about his life and projects. He was also outspoken about his affair with a particular actress. In 1997 Ajith was romantically linked to fellow actress Heera.[21] Both first met in sets and so acted three films together before becoming romantically linked. Ajith and Heera split up in 1999 due to unknown causes. That same year Ajith met his future wife Shalini on the sets of Amarkalam in 1999. They only waited one year before they got married.

Car racing and other interests-

Professional car racer

Ajith is a professional car racer who drove in circuits around India in places such as Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi. He had also been abroad in his various races including Germany and Malaysia. He drove in the Formula 3 for the team Mango Racing. Ajith has taken part in many races and notably has driven into third place in two occasions on tour. Sadly due to persistent injuries he could not continue with his car racing career and so returned to acting in Kollywood.

Ambassador For The Green Revolution

Ajith is an ambassador for the Green Revolution, an awareness campaign and effort to clean up the Chennai environment.[22] He uses his films for subtle marketing of his ideas, and planted 101 saplings in his locality in Adyar, Chennai in 2005. This was make an awareness for the environment and to increase oxygen levels in Channai, due to the pollution caused by everyday motorists. This action was welcomed by the public. Since then the Green Revolution themselves have went on to plant many saplings in other parts of Tamil Nadu.

Mohini-Mani Foundation

Ajith created this non-profit organisation named after his parents in order to promote self-hygiene and civic consciousness, and helping to ease the problems of urban sprawl.[23] The Mohini-Mani Foundation became important to Ajith from 2003 onwards and he now continues to fund the non-profit organisation to make sure to keeps helping to ease the problems of urban sprawl.

Awards

Ajith over the years in the has won multiple awards for his acting. He won the Best New Face Award from Bharatmuni Art Academy for his debut film Prema Pustagam in Telugu. After this award he won three more , a Filmfare Award, a Cinema Express Award and a Dinakaran Cinema Award for the film Vaali in 1999. He then won another Cinema Express - Best Artist Award for the film Mugavari in 2000.

In 2001 he won the Special Actor - State Award for the film Poovellam Un Vasam. He then won another Filmfare Award and another Dinakaran Cinema Award for the film Villain in 2002. Ajith Kumar has also won the Filmfare Best Actor Award South on two occasions and Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award (Tamil) for the Movie Kandukondain Kandukondain. On one occasion J.Jayalalitha presented him with a State Award. In 2007 he won his 4th Filmfare Best Actor Award South for the film Varalaru. He got also the MGR Award by TamilNadu Government and Film Fans Association Best Actor Award.

Early life and education

Ajith Kumar was born in Hyderabad, India. Ajith is the middle son of three children others being Anil Kumar and Anup Kumar, both being software engineers. Ajith was born to a Sindhi mother and Tamil Iyer father was brought up as a Hindu so followed the principle teachings of Hinduism. In his childhood he was brought up in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Schooling days were numbered for Ajith as he dropped out of Asan Memorial Sr. Secondary School in 1986 to become a part-time two-four wheeler mechanic and a full-time garment exporter based in Erode till 1990. Business agencies pushed him into modelling for adverts in print media. He also took it on realising an income in the job, it eventually paved his way into Tollywood otherwise nown as the Telugu film industry and later into Kollywood.