When ‘Thala’ Ajith Kumar Blasted For Labelling Him As An ‘Outsider’ Over His Kerala Origin(Photo Credit –Imdb)
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South Indian superstar Ajith is one of the biggest superstars of Kollywood with a huge fan base. The Thunivu actor, who is surely one of the most nuanced and skilled actors in Indian cinema, has redefined acting with his brilliant performances through his films.
Though he started his journey of acting as a child artist in the Tamil film ‘En Veedu En Kanavar’, he gained his first lead role in 1993 with the popular romantic drama ‘Amaravathi’. Ever since then, Ajith Kumar has never looked back and has given a number of successful films, including ‘Kadhal Kottai’, ‘Kadhal Mannan’, ‘Kadhal Desam’, ‘Kaadhal Mannan’, ‘Dheena’, ‘Villain’, ‘Citizen’, ‘Mugavari’, ‘Villain’, ‘Vedalam’ and many more.
But like other actors in the entertainment industry, Ajith Kumar has also been embroiled in several controversies and one of them was indeed a big one when he was targeted for having his roots in Kerala. Scroll down to know the scoop in detail.
The incident dates back to 2010, when Ajith and a lot of film personalities were forced to attend the felicitation ceremony of ex-chief minister Karunanidhi. Ajith Kumar, who never fails to call a spade a spade, took to the stage and stated, “If we don’t attend the protest, we are portrayed as anti-Tamils. On the one hand, they want us to participate in political events and on the other hand they threaten us not to enter politics. What is wrong in our entering politics if we are expected to participate in political and social events?”
He added, “Actors only want to act and are not interested in taking a stand on issues. But they have been lending support to various causes under extreme pressure. I request the Chief Minister to issue a direction that film personalities should not be arm-twisted to attend social and political events.”
This comment led to the controversy as a certain section of the DMK party was upset with Ajith as they thought that he had shown his arrogance by making such comments. Following the incident, many people from politics and film industry started referring to him as an ‘outsider’ since his ancestors are from Kerala and his mother is a Sindhi.
However, following the controversy, Ajith revealed in an interview with The Times of India that people from his own industry were creating troubles for him and not the politicians. The actor said, “I have stuck my neck out, but it is my strong belief that it is not politicians or those in the business of governance who are creating trouble. They have more serious issues to handle and have no time to indulge in petty matters. But there is a group that wants a star to participate (in all such events) and if he does not comply and prefers that the government handle it, then the star’s nativity and loyalty are questioned.”
Ajith, who is fondly known as Thala, added, “I grew up a Tamilian.” The actor also said that he feels cinema unites people and thus he was extremely upset over bringing divisive tendencies to the arts.
“When a fan buys a ticket for a cricket match or a movie, he is not worried about the colour, creed or religion of the person sitting next to him. If you look at any actor’s fan base in India, you will find that they are from different regions,” Ajith Kumar added.
