Ajay Kumar (born 31 August 1976), better known as Guinness Pakru, is an Indian actor and television personality, who primarily works in

Malayalam cinema Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam, Malayalam language, primarily spoken in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands. It encompasses both th ...

, and some

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

films. He has also served as a judge on several

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

television comedy shows. Standing at tall, Pakru holds the

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

(2008) as the "shortest actor in a leading adult role" for his role in ''

Athbhutha Dweepu ''Albhutha Dweep'' (; titled onscreen as ''Albhutha Dweep'') is a 2005 Indian Malayalam-language fantasy survival film written and directed by Vinayan. The plot is set on an uncontacted island where men are dwarfs and women are of normal heigh ...

'' (2005). In 2013, Pakru made his directorial debut with '' Kutteem Kolum''.

Early life

He was born Ajay Kumar, as the eldest son, of Radhakrishna Pillai and Ambujakshiyamma, on 31 August 1976. His father's home is in

Mulavana Mulavana is a village in Kollam district in the state of Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorg ...

Kundara Kundara is a satellite town in Kerala and is part of the Kollam Metropolitan Area, India. Kundara is situated at the eastern end of Kollam city. Kundara is significant for its historic involvement in the Indian independence movement. Kundara w ...

and Mother's is in

Kottayam Kottayam () is a city in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is the district headquarters of the district and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Kottayam has a population of ...

. His father was an auto driver and mother was an L.I.C agent who also worked at a telephone service agency on contract. Soon after his birth his family moved to

. Since his mother was often transferred they moved from one place to other and finally settled at Pandavam,

Aymanam Aymanam is a village in the Kottayam, Kottayam District of Kerala, India. It is about 4 km from the railway station in Kottayam along the road to Parippu, and 85 km from the Cochin International Airport. Aymanam is the setting for Aru ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. He has two younger sisters, Kavitha and Sangeetha. He studied at C.M.S L.P School, Chalukunnu until fourth grade and at C.M.S High School, Olassa until S.S.L.C. Then he joined

Baselius College Baselius College, Kottayam (established in 1964) is a Malankara Orthodox college. It offers various graduate and under graduate courses. It is located in the heart Kottayam, Kerala, India. It is affiliated with Mahatma Gandhi University. Notab ...

and completed his pre degree and graduation from there. He is a BA graduate in

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

and has a diploma in

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

Career

After finishing college, he began performing kadhaprasangam professionally, touring across

. One of the people who booked him during that time was

Salim Kumar Salim Kumar (born 10 October 1969) is an Indian actor, comedian, director and writer in Malayalam cinema. Mostly known for his comic and comedy roles, Salim Kumar is considered one of the best and most prominent comedians in the history of Mala ...

, who told him to try comedy. This was when

mimicry In evolutionary biology, mimicry is an evolved resemblance between an organism and another object, often an organism of another species. Mimicry may evolve between different species, or between individuals of the same species. In the simples ...

was gaining popularity in Kerala. He began blending mimicry with his kadhaprasangam acts, which proved to be successful, and he gradually shifted entirely to mimicry. Later, he joined the mimicry troupe Mangalam Mimics, headlined by Kottayam Nazir. When Nazir formed his own troupe, Cochin Discovery, around 1998–1999, he joined that as well. During this period, they performed around 150 shows per season, with

Jayasurya Jayasurya (born 31 August 1978) is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, and impressionist who works in Malayalam films. He has appeared in more than 100 films and has won several awards, including a National Film Awards, National Fi ...

also being part of the troupe. His success on stage led to opportunities on television, where he appeared in comedy shows like ''

Cinemala ''Cinemala'' () is an Indian Malayalam language, Malayalam language satirical comedy Television Series in Asianet (TV channel), Asianet TV channel. Starting Dileep and Salim Kumar in leading roles. Broadcast The first episode aired on Asia ...

'' and ''Oru Vadakkan Hasya Gaadha''. He debuted through the children's film ''Ambili Ammavan'' in 1984. He has also acted in television serials. He formed a successful

comedy duo A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act, often highlighting differences in their characters' ...

with the tall comedian

Tini Tom Tini Tom is an Indian actor and comedian. He works in Malayalam films and television. Early life Tini Tom was born in North Paravoor, Kerala, India. His father Tomy T.D. is an engineer. He has a sister Tincy. Tom completed his high school ed ...

, and together they appeared in several TV comedy shows, including ''Savari Giri Giri'' and ''Vallabhan c/o Vallabhan''. Their performances caught the attention of director

Vinayan T. G. Vinayakumar, professionally credited as Vinayan, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, and lyricist, who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema and occasionally in Tamil cinema. He has directed 40 Malayalam films and 4 Tami ...

, who was reminded of the story of ''

Gulliver in Lilliput ''Gulliver's Travels'', originally titled ''Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships'', is a 1726 prose satire by the Anglo-Irish writer and clerg ...

'', inspiring him to create the film ''

'' (2005). The film follows the story of four men stranded on an island inhabited by dwarfs. His role in the film earned him the

Kerala State Film Award – Special Mention The Kerala State Film Award – Special Mention is an award presented at the Kerala State Film Awards The Kerala State Film Awards are the film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala. The awards started in 1969 by the Department o ...

. The success of ''Athbhutha Dweepu'' opened doors for him in Tamil cinema, where he made his debut in ''

Dishyum ''Dishyum'' () is a 2006 Indian Tamil-language action romance film directed by Sasi. The film stars Jiiva, and Sandhya, while Guinness Pakru, Nassar, and Malavika Avinash play supporting roles. The film's score and soundtrack are composed b ...

'' (2006), starring

Jiiva Amar Choudary (born 4 January 1984), known professionally as Jiiva, is an Indian actor and film producer who works mainly in Tamil cinema and a few Malayalam, Telugu and Hindi films. He is the youngest son of film producer R. B. Choudary. ...

. His performance earned him a

Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize Recipients Here is a list of the award winners and the films for which they won. * The year mentioned refers to the year in which the films released. This is the list of Winners of Jury's Special Award See also * Tamil cinema * Cinema of Indi ...

. In 2008, Pakru entered the

as the "shortest actor in a leading adult role" for his role in ''Athbhutha Dweepu'', standing at (). Pakru became a director with the 2013 Malayalam film '' Kutteem Kolum'', in which he also played the lead role. The film also featured Aditya,

Sanusha Sanusha Santhosh is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema. She started her career as a child artist to leading actress and supporting character roles. She also appears in some Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films too. Ear ...

, Laya, Munna,

Suraj Venjaramoodu Suraj Vasudevan (born 30 June 1976), professionally credited as Suraj Venjaramoodu, is an Indian actor, comedian, impressionist, and television presenter, who appears in Malayalam films, television and stage plays. He has acted in more than ...

Vijayaraghavan Narayanapillai Vijayaraghavan, known mononymously as Vijayaraghavan, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. He is known for his character roles. He is the son of drama and cinema artist N. N. Pillai. Early life and f ...

and Ponnamma Babu.

Personal life

Pakru married Gayathri Mohan 9 March 2006. They have two daughters.

Accolades

;

* ''

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

'' (2008 edition) - shortest actor in a leading adult role ;

Kerala State Film Awards The Kerala State Film Awards are the film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala. The awards started in 1969 by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala and since 1998 the awards have been bestowed by Kerala State Cha ...

(2006) - ''

'' ;

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards Tamil Nadu State Film Awards were given for excellence in Cinema of Tamil Nadu, Tamil cinema in India. They were given annually to honour the best talents and provide encouragement and incentive to the South Indian film industry by the Governmen ...

(2006) - ''

'' * Movie Street Film Awards (2020)-Best Actor- Special Jury (''Ilayaraja'')

Filmography

As actor

Malayalam

Tamil

As director

* ''

Kuttiyum Kolum Kuttiyum kolum () is a traditional game played in Kerala, India. It is similar to an ancient game found all over the Indian Subcontinent with different names, such as Gilli-danda in North India. A similar game by the name of :it:Lippa (gioco), ...

'' (2013)

As producer

*''Fancy Dress (2019)

Television

;Serials * ''Savari Girigiri'' (Surya TV) *''Tom and Jerry'' (Asianet) * ''Vallabhan C/O Vallabhan'' * ''

'' (Asianet) * ''Five Star Thattukada'' (Asianet) *'' Ente Maathavu'' (Surya TV) *'' Erivum Puliyum '' (Zee Keralam) ;Shows * ''Chirikum Pattanam'' (Kairali TV) * ''Comedy Festival'' (Mazhavil Manorama) * ''Pokeeri Peekiri'' ( Asianet Plus) * ''Kuttykalavara'' (Flowers TV) * ''Komedy Circus'' (Mazhavil Manorama) * ''Comedy Utsavam'' (Flowers) * '' Thakarppan Comedy'' (

Mazhavil Manorama Mazhavil Manorama is an Indian Malayalam language general entertainment Free-to-air television channel owned by Malayala Manorama. The channel’s headquarters is at Aroor, Alappuzha in Kerala, India. History The channel has been on air sin ...

) *''Midumidukki'' ( Flowers TV channel) *Top Singer (Flowers TV) *Music Ulsavam (Flowers TV) *Comedy masters (Amrita TV) *Comedy Utsavam 3 (Flowers TV) * Drama juniors ( Zee Keralam)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pakru, Guinness 1976 births 20th-century Indian male actors 21st-century Indian male actors Living people Actors with dwarfism Male actors from Kottayam Male actors in Malayalam cinema Male actors in Malayalam television Male actors in Tamil cinema Indian male film actors Indian male television actors Kerala State Film Award winners