Ranjith

Ranjith (born 15 November 1972) is an Indian actor and director who appears in Tamil and Malayalam language films. In 2024, he participated in the reality show Bigg Boss 8 as a contestant.

Acting career

After completing a course in acting, Ranjith made his acting debut in 1993 with Pon Vilangu, directed by K. S. Rajkumar, was produced by R. K. Selvamani. The critic K. Vijayan of New Straits Times praised Ranjith's acting citing that "Ranjith, despite his big build, impresses in his debut performance." The next year, he acted in the lead role in the rural drama Sindhu Nathi Poo (1994).

In 1996, he appeared in Minor Mappillai and in Avathara Purushan. In the start of 1998, Ranjith played as an antagonist in Maru Malarchi opposite Mammooty, the film was released to critical acclaim and he won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Villain for his role. He later acted in Ninaithen Vandhai then the blockbuster Natpukkaga and played the villain role in Dharma. He appeared in the supporting role in Desiya Geetham and Pudhumai Pithan while he played one of the leads in the low-budget film Cheran Chozhan Pandian. He resumes his role in the Telugu drama Sneham Kosam (1999), remake of Natpukkaga directed by K. S. Ravikumar.

From 1999 to 2001, he had predominantly appeared in supporting and villain roles except in Nesam Pudhusu and Kann Thirandhu Paaramma where he played the lead role. In 2003, Ranjith directed, produced and played the title role in Bheeshmar (2003).

Ranjith later acted in Malayalam movies such as Natturajavu (2004), Rajamanikyam (2005), Chandrolsavam (2005) and Lokanathan IAS (2005).

He has acted as the lead role in Aadhikkam (2005), Padhavi Paduthum Paadu (2005), Pasupathi c/o Rasakkapalayam (2007), Kasimedu Govindan (2008) and Munnar (2009) as well as in supporting role in Thambikku Indha Ooru (2010), Gowravargal (2010), Sagaptham (2015) and Adhibar (2015).

Ranjith made his small-screen debut with Vijay TV’s Senthoora Poove. He is particularly known for his role in the popular serial Baakiyalakshmi which exposed him to a broader audience, cementing his place in the industry.

Initially scheduled to release in February 2024, due to the controversies surrounding the film, his self-directed drama film titled Kavundampalayam was pushed to August 2024.

In 2024, he participated in the reality television series Bigg Boss 8 as a contestant. He was later evicted from the show on day 77 at 13th place.

Political career

Ranjith was a member and spokesperson of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam for many years. After the death of AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa in December 2016, Ranjith started to support O. Panneerselvam's faction of AIADMK. In July 2018, Ranjith left the AIADMK and joined the Pattali Makkal Katchi as the new deputy leader of the party. On 26 February 2019, Ranjith, the vice president of PMK, quit the party citing that he could not digest S. Ramadoss and Anbumani Ramadoss' change of stance in supporting the AIADMK in the 2019 Indian general election. The next day, Ranjith met Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam's general secretary T. T. V. Dhinakaran and joined the party officially.

Controversies In August 2024, Ranjith sparked controversy while speaking to media, saying that caste-based honor killing was not violence; rather, it was a parent's way of showing their care towards their children. He later retracted his statement, saying that he "oppose all forms of killing".

Filmography Tamil films + List of Ranjith's Tamil film credits Year Film Role Notes 1993 Pon Vilangu Muthu 1994 Sindhu Nathi Poo Thirukkaval (Sakthivel) 1996 Minor Mappillai Moses Avathara Purushan Anand 1997 Bharathi Kannamma Maayan 1998 Maru Malarchi Manimaran —Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Villain Ninaithen Vandhai Vignesh Natpukkaga Pasupathy (Sirusu) Adra Sakka Adra Sakka Ranjith Dharma Ranjith Desiya Geetham Ganga Pudhumai Pithan Mahesh Cheran Chozhan Pandian Cheran 1999 Ninaivirukkum Varai Sadha Poomaname Vaa Nadaraj Kummi Paattu Selvarasu Ponvizha Velusamy Nesam Pudhusu Ranjith Manaivikku Mariyadhai Naresh Hello Sekhar Iraniyan Police officer Sundari Neeyum Sundaran Naanum Sivaramakrishnan 2000 Eazhaiyin Sirippil Doctor Guest appearance Sudhandhiram Vikram Kannan Varuvaan Raghu Magalirkkaga Subramani Ennamma Kannu Vishwa Kann Thirandhu Paaramma Prabhu Sabhash Dharan 2001 Narasimha C. P. Sharma Kanna Unnai Thedukiren Aandan Adimai Ranjith Pandavar Bhoomi Dhanapal Manadhai Thirudivittai Ranjith 2003 Bheeshmar Bheeshmar Also director 2005 Aadhikkam Naaga/Durai Padhavi Paduthum Paadu Malayappan 2006 Don Chera Cheran (Don Chera) 2007 En Uyirinum Melana Vikram Guest appearance Pasupathi c/o Rasakkapalayam Pasupathi Thirumagan Sivankaalai 2008 Valluvan Vasuki Anandha Konar Kasimedu Govindan Govindan 2009 Munnar Karthikeyan 2010 Thambikku Indha Ooru Thirumalai Gowravargal Nainar 2015 Sagaptham Chinrasu Adhibar Easwaran 2024 Kavundampalayam Kuzhanthai Also Director 2025 Irudhi Muyarchi Ravichandran

Malayalam films + List of Ranjith's Malayalam film credits Year Film Role Notes 2004 Natturajavu Karnan 2005 Rajamanikyam Simon Nadar Chandrolsavam Ramanunni Lokanathan IAS Brahmanandan 2007 Janmam 2010 Thanthonni Neelakantan 2011 August 15 Kannan 2012 Oru Kudumba Chithram Varunagiri 2014 Little Superman Wilson 2017 My School 2019 Mangalath Vasundhara 2024 Kadakan

Telugu film + List of Ranjith's Telugu film credits Year Film Role1999 Sneham Kosam Chinababu

Television series

Voice artist Manoj Bharathiraja – Kadal Pookkal (2001)