Who was Kollam Ajith?

Here is everything you should know about late actor Kollam Ajith. 

Malayalam actor Kollam Ajith who has appeared in more than 500 films breathed his last during the wee hours of Thursday. Suffering from stomach ailments, the actor was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Kochi. He passed away at 3:40 am and was 56 years of age, according to media reports.

Named Ajith Kumar, Ajith decided to take the suffix of Kollam as he was raised in Kadappakada Kollam where his father worked as a railway station master. However, Ajith’s parents were originally from Kottayam. Ajith first tryst with film came as an assistant director when he began to work with filmmaker Padmarajan. However, on seeing the on-screen potential in Ajith, Padmarajan gave him the first break in the 1983 film Parannu Parannu Parannu. The duo went on to work in several films and Ajith was considered a prime part of Padmarajan’s cast. It is even said that Padmarajan reserves roles for Ajith in all his films.

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Kollam Ajith went on to act in around 500 films across different languages such as Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. Featuring prominently in villain roles, Ajith has worked with the who’s who of the industry such as Mammootty (Veendum, Mission 90 Days, Prajapathi) and Mohanlal (Aaraam Thampuran, Lal Salam, Olympiyan Anthony Adam and Nirnayam) in several films. He got an opportunity to play the lead in the 1989 film Agnipravesham, helmed by CP Vijayakumar. In 2016, he decided to venture into direction, writing and helming the Malayalam film Calling Bell.

His last on-screen appearance was in the 2012 Malayalam film Ivan Ardhanaari.