Padma Bhushan awardee Ajith Kumar opens up about his journey, admits, "I am an accidental actor"

Ajith Kumar talks about his acting journey

Tamil superstar Ajith Kumar is turning 54 this year. The actor has been in the entertainment industry for over three decades and has delivered some powerful and iconic roles.

Additionally, he recently earned national recognition and was awarded India’s third-highest civilian honour, the Padma Bhushan award, on April 28. Despite the massive success, Ajith consider himself an “accidental actor” as he never planned to star in the movies.

In a recent interview with India Today, Ajith talked about his acting journey and revealed that he took every opportunity very seriously.

The actor shared, “Acting was never on my radar. I am an accidental actor. After school, I started working in an auto manufacturing company for about six months. I was 18 when I started racing motorcycles.”

Ajith recalled, “I remember my father said that it is a very expensive sport and we cannot support you, but you must find your way. I was at the race track when I was approached by a model coordinator who gave me a visiting card and said if I am interested, then give me a call back. Then, before I started realising, I started doing print ads and TV commercials.”

The actor further revealed that his parents were concerned when he shared his plans of pursuing acting with them.

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He elaborated, “I told them that I know that I am leaping in the dark. But imagine all those people who want to be in my position and see that I have been approached by a production company and I refused, imagine how angry they would feel… That's how I became an actor.”

He added, “I gave a journalist an answer that I had debts and the idea was to a couple of films and if I did become successful and repay my debts. I didn't come to the industry seeking fame.”

For the unversed, Ajith made his acting debut with the 1990 Tamil film En Veedu En Kanavar and bagged the breakthrough role in the Telugu film Prema Pusthakam. He was last seen in Good Bad Ugly, which received mixed reviews from the critics and audience alike. The film notably did well at the box office.