Avinash Yelandur (born 22 December 1959) is an Indian actor who stars predominantly in South Indian language films, notably in the Kannada and

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

film industries. He has been in the industry for two decades and has acted in over 200 films. Known for his authentic portrayal of complex characters and versatility, Avinash is one of the most sought-after actors in the supporting category. He is one of the few actors to enjoy both critical and commercial success.

Early life

Avinash was born in the town of Yelandur in Mysore district (now in Chamarajanagar district), in the Mysore State (now Karnataka), to Indira and B. K. Narayana Rao, a lawyer. After completing his education at Mysore's Hardwicke High School, Avinash went on to attend University of Mysore, where he obtained his master's degree in English literature. Drawn to theatre and cinema from a young age, he had an active theater life at Mysore and later at Bangalore. During the time, he taught English at the

National Institute of Engineering National Institute of Engineering (NIE) is a private engineering college located in Mysore, Karnataka, India. It was established in 1946 and granted autonomy in 2007 from Visvesvaraya Technological University. History NIE was started in 1946 ...

, Mysore, and later at the MES college in Bangalore.

Career

Theatre

His first job after his M.Phil. was that of an English lecturer in National Institute of Engineering, Mysore. He continued to teach at MES College Bangalore as one of the most popular lecturers of the college. However, soon his passion for theatre took him abroad to train in acting at Mermaid Theatre, London. On returning home, he worked in Kannada theatre as part of the renowned B Jayashree's troupe "Spandana" and with the Shankar Nag as part of his "Sanketh" for many years.

Films

Films were a natural choice for Avinash after his debut in G. V. Iyer's "Madhvacharya" based on the life and times of the twelfth-century enlightened master as the protagonist Saint Madhva, a film that won several national and state awards. His debut in mainstream cinema however, was with

Shivarajkumar Nagaraju Shiva Puttaswamy (born 12 July 1962) known by his screen name Shiva Rajkumar, is an Indian actor, producer and television presenter, predominantly works in Kannada cinema.

's ''Samyuktha'', which went in to become a hit with audiences, ushering him into the world of South Indian cinema. Since then, he has since acted in over 400 films in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and English in a career spanning nearly three decades. He has worked with over two hundred directors such as

K. Balachander Kailasam Balachander (9 July 1930 – 23 December 2014) was an Indian film maker and playwright who worked mainly in the Tamil cinema. He was well known for his distinct film-making style, and the Indian film industry knew him as a master of un ...

, Girish Kasaravalli,

T. N. Seetharam Thalagavara Narayanarao Seetharam (born 6 December 1948) is a prominent Kannada film and TV serial director, actor and screenwriter. He has become a cultural icon in Karnataka, India, through his work in several art mediums. Seetharam has writ ...

A. R. Murugadoss Murugadoss Arunasalam (born 25 September 1974), commonly known as A. R. Murugadoss, is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter who predominantly works in the Tamil film industry. He is best known for directing action films mainly on ...

, Puri Jagannadh,

P. Vasu Vasudevan Peethambharan, known professionally as P Vasu, is an Indian director, writer and actor who works in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, and Malayalam language films. In a career spanning three decades, Vasu has directed over 64 films.

Vetrimaaran Vetrimaaran is an Indian film director, screenwriter and film producer, who works in the Tamil film industry. As of 2021, he has won five National Film Awards, eight Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards, two Filmfare South Awards and the Amnesty Inter ...

, Suseenthiran, Suri, Gautham Vasudev Menon and

T. S. Nagabharana Talakadu Srinivasaiah Nagabharana (born 23 January 1953), commonly known as T. S. Nagabharana, is an Indian film director, in the Kannada film industry and a pioneer of parallel cinema. He is one of the few film directors to have straddled t ...

. Avinash's most memorable acting roles to date are in Girish Kasarvalli's National award-winning ''

Dweepa ''Dweepa'' () is a 2002 Indian Kannada-language film by Girish Kasaravalli, based on the novel of the same name by Na D'Souza. It stars Soundarya, Avinash and M. V. Vasudeva Rao in the lead roles. The film deals with the raging issue of buildin ...

'', where he played the protagonist opposite actress Soundarya, T. S. Nagabharana's National award-winning ''Chinnari Muththa'', ''Chiguridha Kanasu'' and ''Singarrevva'', and T. N. Seetaram's National Award-winning ''Mathadana''. P. Vasu's hit series ''

Chandramukhi ''Chandramukhi'' () is a 2005 Indian Tamil-language comedy horror film written and directed by P. Vasu. A remake of Vasu's Kannada film ''Apthamitra'' (2004), which itself loosely based on the Malayalam film ''Manichitrathazhu'' (1993), the fi ...

'', '' Apthamitra'' and ''

Aptharakshaka ''Aaptharakshaka'' ( en, italic=yes, Dearest Savior) is a 2010 Kannada horror film directed by P. Vasu and written by V. R. Bhaskar. The film stars Vishnuvardhan in his 200th Kannada film and posthumous film, along with an ensemble cast inclu ...

'' were high points in his career and have fetched him several national, state smf popular awards. ''5Ters'', an experimental (computer graphics) children's film in Hindi gave him the opportunity of playing good and evil characters and he considers the film to be a high point of his career. Apart from his diverse repertoire, he has had the privilege of playing major roles alongside doyens such as Rajkumar, Rajnikanth, Mammooty, Vishnuvardhan, stars such as Nagarjun, Venkatesh, Shivarajkumar, Vijay, Vikram, Ajith, and also contemporary stars like Puneeth Rajkumar,

Kiccha sudeep Sudeep Sanjeev (born 2 September 1971), also known as Sudeepa, is an Indian actor, director, producer, screenwriter, television presenter and singer, who primarily works in Kannada films. He has also worked in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil films. He ...

, Yash, Surya, Karthi, Arya, Siddharth, Mahesh Babu,udhay kiran, Prithviraj sukumaran and several of the younger stars of South Indian Cinema. Avinash, Malavika Avinash

Personal life

Avinash married Malavika, who was his co-star in the soap opera '' Mayamruga'', in 2001. They have a son, Gaalav.

Awards and recognition

Karnataka State Film Award for Best Supporting Actor Karnataka State Film Award for Best Supporting Actor is a state film award of the Indian state of Karnataka given during the annual Karnataka State Film Awards. The award honours Kannada language films. Superlative Winners Award winners The ...

for

Mathadana ''Mathadana'' ( kn, ಮತದಾನ) is a 2001 Indian Kannada language film directed by T. N. Seetharam, based on S. L. Bhyrappa's novel of the same name, and starring Anant Nag, Tara, Devaraj, Avinash and Hemanth Vasisht in pivotal roles. ...

(2000) #Filmfare award for Best Supporting actor for

#Jury's special mention for Dweepa, Singarevva #South Indian cinematographers association award for Best Supporting actor for Matadana #Film Fans' Association award for Best Supporting Actor for Matadana, Dweepa #SIFA award for Best Supporting Actor for Aptarakshaka #Udaya TV award for excellence in cinema #Suvarna TV award for Prithvi #Aryabhata Award for Best Actor for TV series Shikari #Rajyotsava Award of the Karnataka State Govt # Kempegowda Award of the BBMP

Partial filmography

Other activities

Avinash is the founder member of ''Sneha Loka'', a club to promote sporting activity among the film fraternity. He is also a former member of the executive committee of the Kannada Film Artists Association.

References

External links

* {{authority control 20th-century Indian male actors 21st-century Indian male actors Indian male film actors Male actors in Kannada cinema Male actors in Tamil cinema Living people Filmfare Awards South winners 1959 births People from Chamarajanagar district Male actors in Telugu cinema Recipients of the Rajyotsava Award 2022