Exclusive | Ajith Kumar on Balancing Fame and Family: 'Fame Takes Away The Things That Really Matter'
The actor-racer reflects on the balance between fame and family, and the hidden costs of living in the public eye.
For Ajith Kumar, his wife Shalini consistently remains the strength behind everything he does. “I don’t think I am an easy person to live with,” he admits. “I have put her through a lot of hard times, but she has been very supportive. Till the kids came along, she would travel with me for my races. None of this would have been possible without her support.”
In an exclusive interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, the actor and racer speaks to us how he balances fame and family.
His partnership with former actor Shalini has weathered the highs and lows of stardom. Even now, glimpses of their family life often come from Shalini’s posts. Recently, she shared a clip of their son sprinting ahead in a school race, captioned “Like father, like son.”
Responding to that, Ajith says, “I have a daughter who is 17 and a son who is going to turn 11. They are very much into sports. My son plays football, my daughter loves badminton. They are good vocalists too, and play the piano. Education and schooling are fine, but sports and music help you develop your personality even more.”
He speaks of them with pride, happy knowing that they are growing up away from the noise of his fame. Because for Ajith, that noise can sometimes drown out the simplest joys. “I am confined to my home most of the time,” he says. “I am grateful to my fans for all the love they give, but because of that same love, I hardly get to be out with my family. I can’t go to my son’s school to drop him off. There have been times when I have been asked to leave, very politely.”
"In terms of comfort and a good lifestyle, fame gives you a lot, but the things that really matter to you, it takes away all that from you."
Ajith, one of Tamil cinema’s most respected actors, has also raced in international competitions like the Formula BMW Asia Championship and the Formula 2 series, racing across Europe and Asia. He debuted his new team Ajith Kumar Racing earlier this year. On the film front, he was last seen in Adhik Ravichandran's Tamil film Good Bad Ugly, alongside Trisha and Arjun Das.
Watch out for our full interview with the star, dropping soon on The Hollywood Reporter India's YouTube channel.