Good Bad Ugly actor Ajith: Shalini deserves credit for everything I have achieved
The Tamil superstar acknowledged Shalini’s unwavering support of all his decisions – good and bad – that has stood him in good stead over his 33-year career so far
Last Updated: 08.44 AM, Apr 30, 2025
Tamil superstar Ajith’s had a good start to 2025 – he was honoured with the Padma Bhushan award in January, which he received from the President of India earlier this week; he’s been having a great time on the race track and, his latest release, Good Bad Ugly, did well at the box office. The Valimai and Billa actor, who very rarely speaks to the media, did so with India Today, during which he spoke at length about how all his achievements in the last 33-years of his careers, were largely down to the support of his wife, former actress Shalini, who stood by him through thick and thin.
Ajith: Shalini stood by me during the tough times
Ajith said, “Shalini was very popular and loved by her fans and for her to just take a backseat and support me in every step – I mean, there have been times when probably my decisions have not been the right ones, but she still stood by me, not discouraging me and standing by my side during the tough times. She deserves a lot of credit for everything I have achieved in my life.”
For the unversed, Shalini was a very popular child artiste in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu, who then had a short stint as a lead actress, during which time she worked with Kunchacko Boban, Dileep, Thalapathy Vijay, R Madhavan, and, Ajith. The duo met on the set of their film Amarkalam and got married shortly after. At the time, Shalini was still working on a couple of films, Alai Payuthey and Piriyadha Varam Vendum , which she completed and then gave up on her acting career to focus on family instead.
Meanwhile, Ajith is yet to announce his next acting gig, given that he is currently focusing on the racing season. At an event in Dubai the actor had told media that he was looking at splitting each year to give 6 months to racing and 6 months to acting, adding that he will work on his next film only after the end of the racing season. October to March is his acting window, he’d said.