Karthik Kumar (born 21 November 1977) is an Indian

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...

and actor in the

Tamil film Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywood' ...

and television industries.

Biography

He studied chemical engineering in

Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering (SVCE) is an institute in Tamil Nadu, at Pennalur, Sriperumbudur near Chennai. SVCE was founded in 1985. The college was established by the Southern Petrochemical Industries Corporation (SPIC) group. S ...

. After earning his Bachelor's degree, Karthik along with his friend Sunil Vishnu quit their respective jobs and started the event management company "Evam", which today is a theatre company of renown. Karthik made his acting debut with ''

Alaipayuthey ''Alai Payuthey'' ( ) is a 2000 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written, co-produced and directed by Mani Ratnam, starring Madhavan (in his Tamil debut) and Shalini. The film explores the tensions of married life between two young pe ...

'' (2000) portraying a small role as the female lead character's prospective suitor. He was first tested for the role of

R. Madhavan Ranganathan Madhavan (born 1 June 1970) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, and producer who predominantly appears in Tamil and Hindi films. Madhavan has won four Filmfare Awards South and three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. Madhavan ...

in the film but was rejected as he was too young with no acting experience at the time. He went on to portray supporting roles notably in films like ''

Yaaradi Nee Mohini ''Yaaradi Nee Mohini'' () is a 2008 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film directed by Mithran Jawahar. It is a remake of the 2007 Telugu hit Selvaraghavan's ''Aadavari Matalaku Arthale Verule'' and stars Dhanush, Selvaraghavan's brother, a ...

'' (2008) and ''

Poi Solla Porom ''Poi Solla Porom'' () is a 2008 Tamil comedy film directed by A. L. Vijay. It is a remake of the Hindi film ''Khosla Ka Ghosla'' and stars Karthik Kumar, debutante Piaa Bajpai, and Nedumudi Venu, alongside an ensemble supporting cast including O ...

'' (2008). In November 2016, Karthik lamented getting

typecast In film, television, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character, one or more particular roles, or characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ...

in particular roles, especially as the American mappillai, and announced his retirement from the film industry. However, he returned with a role in '' Rocketry: The Nambi Effect'' (2022). Karthik Kumar is also a stand-up comedian who has done three stand-up specials. His first special, "#PokeMe" has more than half a million views on YouTube. His second special was titled "Second Decoction" followed by "Blood Chutney" streaming on Amazon Prime. He has performed over 1000 shows across India, USA, UK, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. He is managed by Evam Standup Tamasha, a stand-up movement in South India.

Personal life

Karthik Kumar married

Suchitra Suchitra Ramadurai, known by the mononym Suchitra, is an Indian radio jockey, popular playback singer, songwriter, composer, voice artist, dubbing artist and film actress. She has sung in multiple languages including Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada ...

, a singer, in 2005. The couple parted ways in 2017. In December 2021, he married actress

Amrutha Srinivasan Amrutha Srinivasan is an Indian actress who has appeared in Tamil-language films. She is known for her role in the web series ''Kallachirippu''. Career Amrutha Srinivasan made her lead film debut in ''Aviyal'' playing the only female protagon ...

Filmography

Actor

Director

Television

Voice artist

* For

Atul Kulkarni Atul Kulkarni (born 10 September 1965) is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter who works in Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, English, Odia and Telugu language films. Kulkarni won the National Award for the Best Supporting Actor ...

in ''

Aval ''Aval'' () may refer to: * ''Aval'' (1967 film) * ''Aval'' (1972 film) * ''Aval'' (2017 film) * ''Aval'' (TV series), a 2011 Indian Tamil-language family soap opera {{disambiguation ...

'' (2017, Tamil)

References

External links

* 1977 births Living people Tamil male television actors Tamil television presenters Television personalities from Tamil Nadu Male actors from Tamil Nadu Male actors in Tamil cinema 21st-century Tamil male actors Indian stand-up comedians Male actors in Hindi cinema Indian male film actors Male actors from Chennai {{authority control