Actor Ajith is a bit of an enigma to most of his fans. He is fiercely protective about his private life and eschews media events, even going so far as to add a ‘no promotions’ clause to his contracts. So, if you’re one of those adoring fans of his who’d like to know more about the actor, worry no more. We, at Silverscreen, have put to use our awesome knowledge of Wikipedia and Google search to dish up some trivia about the Ultimate Star (psst: even if you do know these facts, kindly humour us):
♠ Ajith is a mentor to many young actors – Silambarasan, Dhanush, Vaibhav and Arun Vijay all look up to the star and try to emulate him in their (personal and) professional lives
♣ Apart from being an avid racer, he is also majorly involved in aero-modelling. Ajith has spent a huge amount of money in this pet passion of his and claims it calms him down.
♥ Ajith’s bike-racing career is probably the best known facet of his life. The actor suffered a life-threatening injury while racing and has been a huge exponent of safe driving ever since. He can often be seen taking his superbike out for a drive along the ECR, duly dressed in safety gear.
♦ Reports have it that the actor spent over INR 25,000 on a spanking new helmet. Of course, it’s no ordinary helmet – it is Wi-Fi enabled, has an inbuilt camera and can probably even direct films. Ok, we’re kidding.
♠ Ajith has also discovered the joy of photography. He always carries a camera with him to sets and takes pictures of everything. While on the sets of Veeram, the actor took many pictures of his co-stars and even gifted framed copies to them at the end of the shoot.
♣ His Veeram co-stars, Munish and Sohail Chandhok, also swear by his cooking skills. Apparently, the actor’s biriyani is to die for. Says Munish, “he makes the most succulent, tasty, chunky, chicken biriyani ever!”
♥ Thala, as he’s often called, is also a big softie at heart. He has secretly funded the education of his employees’ children. And has built homes for his longtime employees at a hilltown in Tamil Nadu; offering them monetary support as well.
♠ He loves his fans and his fans love him right back. But a few years ago, the star was distressed by the actions of some fans and decided to dissolve his fan clubs on his 40th birthday. Though recent reports suggest that he’s thinking of starting them up all over again.
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♣ Ajith is probably one of the very few actors who is neutral, politically. He neither voices support nor attacks political parties on public platforms. He always maintains that his vote is “his alone” and that his fans should follow their own heart and head when it comes to such decisions.
♥ The actor comes from a very non filmy background, having revealed in many interviews that he was called ‘the dunce’ of the family. His brothers are in white collar jobs – one’s a stock broker while the other is an IIT graduate. Ajith was the black sheep of the family, but eventually made his way to the top.
♦ Ajith’s hit movies outnumber his flops. He has undergone over fifteen major operations and still remains unfazed. He says his family and fans give him the strength to survive everything – and have given him more happiness than movies ever could.
♠ Bonus fact: Our writers can’t count.