Happy Birthday Ajith Kumar! It's been just a few minutes since the actor has rung in his birthday and fans have already made him the top trend on Twitter. Thala Ajith, a name given to him by fans, is one of the most celebrated actors who has also given quite a few box office hits. Ajith is one of the only actors down south who is known for being versatile. He has done a lot of roles right from an evil twin in Vaali to an effeminate dancer in Varalaru to a grieving, sexy cop in Yennai Arindhaal.

The actor got married to actress Shalini and the two even have kids together. Ajith is known to be a very dedicated actor who doesn't taken on more than one film at a time so he can give his 100 per cent to the film. He also makes it a point to not take any work-related after his pack up for the day. Thala ensures that he spends quality time with his family while managing his hectic schedule. He might portray a toughie onscreen but the actor is soft on the inside and even secretly funds his employees' kid's educations.

On his birthday, here are some facts that you might not know about Thala!

He had dropped out of school to become a race car driver

The actor wanted to participate in the Formula 1 racing event and even dropped out of school to train in it. Eventually he did participate in Formula 1. He suffered a life threatening injury while racing once because of which he encourages everyone to give safety the utmost importance.

Ajith has four siblings and comes from a non-filmy background

Ajith has two brothers, who have settled in US and had twin sisters, too, but he lost them at a very young age.

Ajith has a Shah Rukh Khan connection

Ajith and SRK worked with each other in Asoka, where the former played a negative role. At an event held in Chennai, SRK revealed that he didn't know of Ajith's massive stardom in South because of how down to earth he was on the sets of the film.

The Ajith Fandom

Ajith is strictly against his fans defaming other rival actors to glorify him. He believes in not spreading hatred and encourages healthy competition.

Thala's actual debut down South

A lot of people think that Amravathi is his debut film, which released in 1993. His actual debut was Telugu film Prema Pusthakam in 1992 but they had to stop shooting for the film after the director died. They later resumed shooting for it in 1993. It was Thala's only Telugu film ever. What are your thoughts on this? Tell us in the comments below and stay tuned with us for more.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 01, 2018 01:38 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).