Ramesh Aravind is an Indian actor, director, screenwriter and television presenter who predominantly works in
Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
films and television. In a career of over 34 years, Aravind has been appeared in over 140 films including several Tamil and Telugu-language films.
He has earned and been nominated for numerous awards during his career, including winning two Filmfare Awards for Best Actor and Karnataka State Awards for Best Actor and Best Story for his script in ''Hoomale'', as well as Udaya TV and Suvarna TV Awards.
He is the host of ''
Weekend with Ramesh','' which has had four successful seasons on
Zee Kannada and also hosted Season 3 of ''Kannadada Kotiyadipathi'', the Kannada version of ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire''.
He was appointed by
BBMP
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is the administrative body responsible for civic amenities and some infrastructural assets of the Greater Bengaluru metropolitan area. It is the fourth largest Municipal Corporation in India an ...
as the Awareness Ambassador for COVID-19.
His movies -
Anuraga Sangama
''Anuraga Sangama'' is a 1995 Indian Kannada-language romantic drama film directed and written by V. Umakanth. The film stars Ramesh Aravind, Kumar Govind and Sudharani.
The film is loosely inspired by the Charlie Chaplin film ''City Lights''. ...
,
Karpoorada Gombe,
Namoora Mandara Hoove,
Amrutavarshini,
America America,
Ulta Palta,
O Mallige,
Mungarina Minchu,
Tutta Mutta successfully completed a 100-day run, consecutively, that year.
In 2022 he was given honorary doctorate degree by Rani Channamma University for his contribution to field of cinema
In the year 2022, he was awarded the "Dr. Shivarama Karanth Huttora Prashasti" or the "Dr. Shivarama Karanth Award" This award is presented to him considering his services on a national level as an actor, director and resource person.
His journey in filmland continues to this day in all aspects of filmmaking - as director of comedy film
Rama Shama Bhama and as an actor in cult movies like
Aptamitra,
Pushpaka Vimana,
Shivaji Surathkal and 100. He is presently acting in Shivaji Suratkal 2.
Personal life
Ramesh Aravind was born to P.A. Govindachari & Saroja. He has four siblings.
He is married to Archana Aravind, and they have a daughter, Niharika, and son, Arjun.
Career
Actor
He has to his credit over 100 Kannada films in addition to Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films as the leading man. As of June 2020, he is acting in the lead role in two Kannada movies - ''100'' and ''Bhairadevi''.
During his stint at engineering college, Ramesh Aravind worked as an emcee to award functions, notably as the host of an event celebrating the success of the film, ''
Sagara Sangamam
''Sagara Sangamam'' () is a 1983 Indian Telugu-language dance film written and directed by K. Viswanath and produced by Edida Nageswara Rao. The film stars Kamal Haasan, Jaya Prada, Sarath Babu, S. P. Sailaja and Chakri Toleti. Upon releas ...
'' (1983), where he met his long-term collaborator
Kamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali f ...
for the first time.
He then started off by hosting a show on Kannada television, before beginning work on a Kannada-language film titled ''Mouna Geethe'' where he had a supporting role. Prior to the release of the film, he was approached by director
K. Balachander who had been looking for an actor to play Kamal Haasan's role, for a Kannada version of the Tamil film ''
Sollathaan Ninaikkiren'' (1973). After a brief audition, Balachander selected Ramesh Aravind after being "impressed with his eyes" and cast him as the playboy character in the venture titled ''
Sundara Swapnagalu'' (1986), which released shortly before ''Mouna Geethe'' in which he had acted first.
Balachander then gave him a small role in ''
Punnagai Mannan
''Punnagai Mannan'' () is a 1986 Indian Tamil-language musical romantic drama film written and directed by K. Balachander. The film stars Kamal Haasan and Revathi, with Srividya, Rekha, Delhi Ganesh, Sudarshan and Sundar Krishna Urs in su ...
'' (1986) as
Revathi
Asha Kelunni Nair (born 8 July 1966), better known by her stage name Revathi, is an Indian actress and director, known for her works predominantly in Tamil & Malayalam cinema - in addition to Telugu, Hindi & Kannada films.
She has won severa ...
's ex-lover, but his scenes were edited out of the final version.
He was set to collaborate with the director again in the Tamil film ''
Manathil Uruthi Vendum'' (1987), but Balachander later recommended to Ramesh Aravind to opt out of the film and work on a venture with
K. Bhagyaraj instead, to mark his debut in a leading role. The proposed film was later shelved, and the actor returned to the cast of ''Manathil Uruthi Vendum'', winning critical acclaim for his performance. Balachander also introduced Ramesh Aravind into Telugu films through ''
Rudraveena'', with the actor having a distinct trait of being introduced into three different film industries by the same director.
He made his breakthrough portraying a student union leader in
Vasanth's
romantic drama film
Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...
''
Keladi Kanmani'' (1990), and the commercial success of the film meant that Ramesh Aravind shifted base to
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of ...
and worked primarily on Tamil and Kannada films until 1996. He earned critical acclaim in Tamil cinema, portraying a love-ridden musician in Balachander's ''
Duet
A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...
'' (1994) as well as through his performance alongside Kamal Haasan in
Balu Mahendra
Balanathan Benjamin Mahendran (19 May 1939 13 February 2014), commonly known as Balu Mahendra, was a Sri Lankan-born Indian cinematographer, director, screenwriter and film editor who worked predominantly in Tamil cinema. Widely regarded as ...
's comedy film on marriage, ''
Sathi Leelavathi'' (1995).
Meanwhile, he appeared in several consecutive commercially successful Kannada films, en route to becoming one of the industry's most bankable actors. Subsequently, he returned to the
Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
-based film industry to prioritise his work in Kannada films. His returns to feature in Tamil films since the mid-1990s have often seen him collaborate with his friend Kamal Haasan, in ventures including the unreleased ''
Kanden Seethaiyai
''9 Nelalu'' or ''Tommidi Nelalu'' () is a 2000 Telugu-language drama film directed by Kranthi Kumar. The film stars Soundarya and Vikram. The film opened to positive reviews from critics. The film was later re-shot and released in Tamil as ...
'', ''
Panchathantiram'' (2002) and ''
Mumbai Xpress'' (2005).
He was also a celebrity RJ in Big FM.
Writing
He scripted the national award-winning film
Hoomale in 1998 and this paved the way for his foray into the field of film direction.
The film also won Ramesh the Best Actor Filmfare Award and the Karnataka State Award. His script for a hit movie called ''
Amrithadhare'' in 2005 won him the Raghvendra Chitravani Award for Best Story. After that, he started writing stories for the movies he directed.
His new Kannada book "Art of Success” which is a collection of his quotes or success mantras has become a Best Seller. His next book “ Preetiyinda Ramesh" is expected to release in September 2022. He has written and narrated an audiobook in Kannada “MasadaMaatu with Ramesh” available on Storytel App.
Direction
Ramesh Aravind's first directorial venture was the successful - ''
Rama Shama Bhama'' with
Kamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali f ...
. The second film that he directed was ''
Sathyavan Savithri''. His third directorial venture was ''Accident''. His next directorial venture was a comedy flick released in 2009 ''
Venkata in Sankata''. He directed ''
Nammanna Don
''Nammanna Don'' is a 2012 Indian Kannada comedy film starring Ramesh Aravind, Mona Parvaresh and Sanathini in the lead roles. Ramesh himself has directed and written the script with DBC Shekar for the movie. Mathew Manu is the music director o ...
'' in 2012.
When Kamal Haasan presented him with the offer to direct ''
Uttama Villain'', Ramesh Aravind ceased signing any Kannada films and exclusively began preparation for his directorial debut in Tamil films. It would become the first film he would make in which he did not portray a leading role and explained he accepted the film due to the "challenging nature of the script", also getting an opportunity to direct his mentor
K. Balachander in the film.
Oratory
Ramesh Aravind is also known for his oratory. He is an effective motivational speaker. Through his talks and social media posts, he has inspired lakhs of youth to succeed without compromising on integrity.
Television
Ramesh Aravind also appeared as the host of the following shows:
;As Host
;As producer
Filmography
Awards
Ramesh Aravind has won a number of awards as an actor, director and writer. He was given honorary doctorate degree by Rani Channamma University for his contribution to field of cinema. In the year 2022, he was awarded the "Dr. Shivarama Karanth Huttora Prashasti" or the "Dr. Shivarama Karanth Award" This award is presented to him considering his services on a national level as an actor, director and resource person.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Aravind, Ramesh
1964 births
Living people
Male actors in Kannada cinema
Kannada film directors
20th-century Indian male actors
21st-century Indian male actors
Film directors from Bangalore
Indian male screenwriters
Filmfare Awards South winners
Male actors in Telugu cinema
Indian male film actors
Male actors in Tamil cinema
Indian game show hosts
Television personalities from Tamil Nadu
People from Thanjavur district
Male actors from Bangalore
Screenwriters from Bangalore
University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering alumni