Three decades, 63 films, four Vijay Awards, a Padma Bhushan, and a Gentleman Driver of the Year award from Venice. Ajith Kumar has built a career that does not fit neatly into any single category, and at 55, he seems entirely uninterested in making it fit. Ajith Kumar came up through the ranks of Tamil cinema in the 1990s as a romantic lead, with films like Aasai, Kadhal Kottai, and Kaadhal Mannan giving him his early foothold. The shift toward mass action cinema happened gradually through the 2000s, with films like Villain, Dheena, and Vaali showing audiences a different dimension to him. But it was Mankatha in 2011 that gave him his most fan-favourite screen image. A morally grey antihero in a slick heist thriller, the film connected with audiences in a way that has not dimmed. It saw a re-release in January 2026 and opened strongly, a clear indication that the affection for that particular chapter of his career remains intact. His last two theatrical outings both came in 2025. Vidaamuyarchi, directed by Magizh …