Bala Kumar (born 19 December 1982) is an Indian actor and director, who works in Malayalam and Tamil films. He made his debut in the Telugu film 2 Much (2002). He is well known for his roles in films such as Big B (2007), Sound of Boot (2008), Puthiya Mukham (2009), Hero (2012), Veeram (2014), Ennu Ninte Moideen (2015), Pulimurugan (2016), Aanakkallan (2018), Lucifer (2019), and Thambi (2019).
Early life Bala was born on 19 December 1982, into a family associated with the Tamil film industry. His grandfather, A. K. Velan, owned the film production house Arunachalam Studios and worked as a producer and screenwriter. Bala's father, Jayakumar, was a documentary photographer and short film director with over 400 works to his credit. Bala has two siblings: a brother and a sister. His brother, Siva, is a film director and cinematographer, while his sister is a scientist. Bala initially pursued a Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) degree in engineering but later switched to a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA). While studying for his BBA, he began his career in acting.
Career He made his debut in Telugu with 2 Much (2002) and in Tamil with Anbu (2003). Since then he acted and found success in a number of Malayalam films. He received appreciation for his role in the 2009 film Puthiya Mukham. He made a comeback to Tamil cinema in 2014 with the Ajith Kumar-starrer Veeram. The film, directed by his brother Siva, the film was a critical and commercial success.
Bala made his directorial debut with the 2012 Malayalam action film The Hitlist, in which he played the leading role. In 2015 and 2016, he performed notable supporting roles in the period romantic drama Ennu Ninte Moideen and the action film Pulimurugan, and Lucifer in 2019, all three were the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time.
Personal life Bala is religious and a devotee of god Shiva. On 27 August 2010, he married, for a second time, Idea Star Singer-fame Malayali singer Amrutha Suresh. They have a daughter, born in September 2012. The couple divorced in 2019 after living separately for four years.
On 5 September 2021, he married Elizabeth Udayan, who is a doctor by profession. In an interview in 2023, Bala revealed he was living separately from Elizabeth. On 22 October 2024, Bala married, for the fourth time, his cousin, Kokila.
Controversies One of Bala's former partners accused him of rape and abuse. His ex-wife Amrutha Suresh alleged forgery in divorce case. He was arrested on charges of outraging a woman's modesty following ex-wife's complaint. Bala has been arrested for threatening a YouTuber and his friend after trespassing his flat.
Filmography Malayalam films Year Title Role Notes2005ArabikadhakalAlavudeen Abdulla Hussan 2006 Kalabham Shajahan aka Arjun 2007 Hareendran Oru Nishkalankan Commn. Rajan Mathew Big B Murugan John Kurishingal 2008 Aayudham Anwar Bullet Flop SMS Kichan Sound of Boot Rahul Krishna Drona 2010Anandapadmanabhan Chempada Manu 2009 Venalmaram Vinayakan Puthiya Mukham Sudhi Sagar Alias Jacky Reloaded Special Appearance 2010 Black Stallion Ameer Usman Alexander The Great Manu Ringtone Krishna Avan P. V. Krishnan Patham Adhyayam Achu Sahasram Vaishakhan Chaverpada Visal Sabhapathy 2011 Kayam Sasikuttan Priyappetta Nattukare Satheesh Kumar Sivapuram Shivan Sthalam Makaramanju Rajaraja Varma 2012 Mullassery Madhavan Kutty Nemom P. O. Khalid Hero Uday Musafir Sakthidharan The Hitlist Vikram Rathore Directorial debut 2013 Cowboy Xavier 2015 Ennu Ninte Moideen Sethu 2016 Pulimurugan Shiva 2017 Nilavariyathe Pokkan 2018 Wonder Boys Aanakkallan Suryanarayanan 2019 Lucifer Bhadran Cameo appearance 1948 Kaalam Paranjathu An International Local Story Fancy Dress Gabriel 2021 My Dear Machans Ranganathan 2022 Shefeekkinte Santhosham Ameer 2024 Bad Boyz
Tamil films Year Title Role Notes2003 Anbu Anbu Kadhal Kisu Kisu Sriram 2004 Amma Appa Chellam Chellam 2006 Kalinga Kalinga 2009 Manjal Veyil Ravi 2014 Veeram Murugan 2019 Thambi MLA Manimaaran 2021 Annaatthe Arjun
Other language films Year Title Role Language Notes 2002 2 Much Bullebbai Telugu Credited as Bala Kumar 2010 Chapter 6 2012 The Hitlist Vikram Rathore Kannada
Television Year Title Role Channel Language Notes2007Idea Star Singer Celebrity JudgeAsianetMalayalam2011Vivel Big Break JudgeSurya TV2015Uggram Ujjwalam JudgeMazhavil Manorama2019Thakarppan Comedy JudgeMazhavil Manorama2020Snehathode Veetil Ninnu Himself Mazhavil ManoramaQuarantine special show2021Star MagicMentorFlowers TV2022-2023Comedy MastersJudgeAmrita TV2023Funs Upon A Time season 3JudgeAmrita TV
References
External links
Bala on Msidb