Thala Ajith with Ulaga Nayagan KamalHaasan Rare Video LTTE Support Stage
Ajith Kumar (born 1 May 1971) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil cinema. To date, Ajith has starred in over 50 films. Among his awards include four Vijay Awards, three Cinema Express Awards, three Filmfare Awards South and three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. In addition to his acting, he is also a motor car racer and participated in the MRF Racing series (2010).
He began his career with a small role in the 1990 Tamil film En Veedu En Kanavar. He established himself as a romantic hero with Kadhal Kottai (1996), Aval Varuvala (1998) and Kaadhal Mannan (1998), and established himself as an action hero starting with the film Amarkalam (1999). Ajith's dual portrayal of twin brothers—where one is deaf-mute—in S. J. Suryah's Vaali (1999) won him his first Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Actor. He earned critical acclaim for his dual role performance in the vigilante film Citizen (2001).[3] In 2006, he starred in Varalaru, in which he played three different roles. It became the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2006.[4] The following year he starred in two remakes—Kireedam (2007) and Billa (2007),[a] both of which earned him critical acclaim.[4] Ajith played an antihero in Mankatha (2011),[5] which became one of the highest-grossing Tamil films of all time.[6] His next release, Billa II (2012), was Tamil cinema's first prequel.[b]
Ajith became a race car driver, competing in circuits around India in places such as Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi. He is one among very few Indians to race in the International arena and in Formula championships. He has also been abroad for various races, including Germany and Malaysia. He drove in the 2003 Formula Asia BMW Championships.[8] He raced in the 2010 Formula 2 Championship along with two other Indians, Armaan Ebrahim and Parthiva Sureshwaren.[9] Based on the annual earnings of Indian celebrities, he was included in the Forbes India Celebrity 100 list three times.[10]
Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, dancer, film director, screenwriter, producer, playback singer, lyricist and politician who works primarily in Tamil cinema. Hassan has also worked in Malayalam, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada and Bengali films. His production company, Raaj Kamal Films International, has produced several of his films. Haasan's contributions to film have been praised by his contemporaries across the Indian film industry, and he has been recognised as an influence for actors and filmmakers in the Tamil film industry. He has won four National Film Awards and 19 Filmfare Awards. He was awarded the Kalaimamani award in 1984 the Padma Shri in 1990, the Padma Bhushan in 2014 and the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Chevalier) in 2016.[6] He was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at 15th Mumbai International Film Festival in 2013.[7]
Haasan started his career as a child artist in the 1960 Tamil-language film Kalathur Kannamma, for which he won the President's Gold Medal. He met director Vaaranam Vijay who is frequently credited with shaping Haasan's acting skills. He is well known for His versatility and played variety of roles in every films depicted on screen. His breakthrough as a lead actor came in the 1975 drama Apoorva Raagangal, directed by K. Balachander, in which he played a rebellious youth who falls in love with an older woman. He won his first National Film Award for his portrayal of a guileless school teacher who cares for a woman who suffers from retrograde amnesia in Moondram Pirai (1983). He was noted for his performances in Mani Ratnam's Nayakan (1987) and S. Shankar's vigilante film Indian (1996) and also won second and third National film award respectively. Since then he has appeared in films including Hey Ram (2000), Virumaandi (2004), Dasavathaaram (2008) in which he played ten roles and Vishwaroopam (2013) which were his own productions. Haasan has acted in over 220 films, and in 2019 he became one of the few actors in India to have completed 60 years working in cinema.
For his humanitarian efforts Haasan received the first Abraham Kovoor National Award in 2004. He was project ambassador for the Hridayaragam 2010 event, which raised funds for an orphanage for HIV/AIDS-affected children. In September 2010, Haasan launched a children's cancer relief fund and gave roses to children with cancer at Sri Ramachandra University in Porur, Chennai. Haasan was nominated by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Swachh Bharat Mission. On 21 February 2018, Haasan formally launched his political party, Makkal Needhi Maiam (lit. People's Justice Centre).[8]
