Bharath Srinivasan (born 21 July 1983), known professionally as Bharath, is an Indian actor, who works predominantly in
Tamil cinema
Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywo ...
. He has mainly acted in
Tamil films, along with few films in
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...
,
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...
and
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
.
He made his acting debut in 2003 with
S. Shankar's ''
Boys''. He then appeared in the
Jayaraj-directed Malayalam vigilante film ''
4 the People
''4 the People'' is a 2004 Indian Malayalam-language vigilante thriller film directed by Jayaraj and written by Iqbal Kuttippuram from a story by Jayaraj. It stars Arun Cherukavil, Bharath, Arjun Bose, and Padma Kumar in the title roles, along ...
'' (2004) which was a musical hit and a blockbuster in Kerala. Then, he played the negative character in ''
Chellamae'' (2004).
He received his breakthrough as the lead in the Tamil film ''
Kaadhal'' (2004). Some of his other notable films include ''
Pattiyal'' (2006), ''
Em Magan
''Em Magan'' () is a 2006 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language family drama film written and directed by Thirumurugan (director), Thirumurugan. Bharath (actor), Bharath, Gopika, and Nassar (actor), Nassar played the lead roles, while Vadivelu, S ...
'' (2006), ''
Veyil'' (2006), ''
Pazhani'' (2008), ''
Kanden Kadhalai
''Kanden Kadhalai'' () is a 2009 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film directed by R. Kannan. The film, a remake of the 2007 Hindi film '' Jab We Met'', stars Bharath and Tamannaah. The film was released on 30 October 2009. This film wa ...
'' (2009), ''
Vaanam
''Vaanam'' () is a 2011 Indian Tamil-language action drama film written and directed by Krish. It is the remake of his own Telugu film '' Vedam'' (2010) starring Allu Arjun, Manchu Manoj and Anushka Shetty. It features an ensemble cast ...
'' (2011), ''
Ainthu Ainthu Ainthu
''Ainthu Ainthu Ainthu'' (; stylized as ''555'') is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by Sasi. It stars Bharath and Chandini Sreedharan in the main lead roles. Erica Fernandes and Santhanam play pivotal supporting roles ...
'' (2013) and ''
Kaalidas
''Kaalidas'' is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by Sri Senthil. The film stars Bharath and Ann Sheetal, while Suresh Menon and Aadhav Kannadasan portray other pivotal roles. The film began production ...
'' (2019).
Early and personal life
Bharath was born as Bharath Srinivasan on 21 July 1983 in
Trichy
Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bei ...
,
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil languag ...
, India. He is a trained dancer by profession and joined Swingers International Dance Club when he was 11 years old. He did his schooling at DAV Senior Secondary School, he's also a football fan. Bharath has a younger sister, Preethi.
His mother tongue is
Tamil.
He married childhood friend Jeshly, a Malayali dentist based in Dubai, on 9 September 2013 in Chennai. He has twin boys who were born in August 2018.
Career
Debut success (2003–2009)
Bharath made his acting debut in the 2003 Tamil film ''
Boys'' directed by
S. Shankar, in which he played the guitarist of a boy band. He was selected for the role, after Shankar had seen him performing at a dance programme "Inspirations" at the Music Academy by Swingers. In 2004, he first appeared in the Malayalam film, the
Jayaraj-directed
vigilante
Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority.
A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a person who ...
film ''
4 The People
''4 the People'' is a 2004 Indian Malayalam-language vigilante thriller film directed by Jayaraj and written by Iqbal Kuttippuram from a story by Jayaraj. It stars Arun Cherukavil, Bharath, Arjun Bose, and Padma Kumar in the title roles, along ...
'', portraying one of the four protagonists. Later that year, he played the
antagonist role in the Tamil film ''
Chellamae''. His portrayal of Vishwa, a possessive teenager who kidnaps his childhood friend whom he is obsessed with and although she has married someone else, was acclaimed by critics.
He reprised his role from ''4 The People'' in the Telugu remake ''
Yuvasena''. He played his first starring role in
Balaji Sakthivel's Tamil romantic-drama film ''
Kaadhal'' that featured him as a poor
mechanic
A mechanic is an artisan, skilled tradesperson, or technician who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially cars.
Duties
Most mechanics specialize in a particular field, such as auto body mechanics, air conditioning and ...
who falls in love and elopes with a wealthy twelfth-standard student.
The film, produced by Shankar, received critical acclaim and commercial success.
[ '' Pattiyal'', a gangster thriller, was his first release in 2006. The Vishnuvardhan-directorial opened to a positive response and went to become a box office hit, with Bharath garnering accolades for his performance as a deaf and dumb ]hitman
Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or persons. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may b ...
Later that year, he starred in '' Azhagai Irukkirai Bayamai Irukkirathu'', ''Em Magan
''Em Magan'' () is a 2006 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language family drama film written and directed by Thirumurugan (director), Thirumurugan. Bharath (actor), Bharath, Gopika, and Nassar (actor), Nassar played the lead roles, while Vadivelu, S ...
'', '' Chennai Kadhal'' and '' Veyil''. While ''Chennai Kadhal'', a romance film by Vikraman, bombed at the box office, Thirumurugan's family drama film ''Em Magan'' was declared a hit film. He has received great accolades for ''Veyil''.
Following ''Veyil'', Bharath experienced a setback in his career as his subsequent releases—with the exception of '' Pazhani''—proved to be commercially unsuccessful. He was facing an "image crisis" as he signed up for action and masala films and went on play repetitive roles as a "larger than life angry young man", playing "small town rowdy" or "guy seeking revenge" roles.[ '' Koodal Nagar'', was released in 2007 in which he portrayed a dual role, which was a box office disaster. In 2008 he appeared in Perarasu's '' Pazhani'' alongside ]Kajal Aggarwal
Kajal Aggarwal (born 19 June 1985) is an Indian actress and model who mainly appears in Telugu and Tamil language films, in addition to a few Hindi films. Aggarwal has worked in more than 50 films and also received two South Indian Internat ...
and Khushbu, following which ''Nepali
Nepali or Nepalese may refer to :
Concerning Nepal
* Anything of, from, or related to Nepal
* Nepali people, citizens of Nepal
* Nepali language, an Indo-Aryan language found in Nepal, the current official national language and a language spoken ...
'', directed by V. Z. Durai was released. That year he had two more releases, ''Muniyandi Vilangial Moonramandu
''Muniyandi Vilangyial Moondramandu'' () is a 2008 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by Thirumurugan. Bharath, Poorna, Ponvannan, and Vadivelu star. The film was produced by Malaysian-based firm Lotus Five Star in ...
'', which saw him collaborating with the ''Em Magan'' team again, and Hari's '' Seval''.[ In 2009 he acted in '']Arumugam
Arumugam or Arumukan is a Tamil male given name. Due to the Tamil tradition of using patronymic surnames it may also be a surname for males and females. Arumugam is one of the many names of the Hindu god Murugan, which refers to his six faces (Ar ...
'', directed by Suresh Krishna and ''Kanden Kadhalai
''Kanden Kadhalai'' () is a 2009 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film directed by R. Kannan. The film, a remake of the 2007 Hindi film '' Jab We Met'', stars Bharath and Tamannaah. The film was released on 30 October 2009. This film wa ...
'', the Tamil remake of the 2007 Bollywood film '' Jab We Met''. The latter featured him in a totally contrasting role as a rich businessman, and became his only commercial success in two years.
Setbacks and success (2010–2013)
In 2010, he had a single release with Badri's ''Thambikku Indha Ooru
''Thambikku Indha Ooru'' () is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language masala film directed by Badri. It stars Bharath, Sana Khan, Prabhu, Vivek, Madalsa Sharma, and Ranjith. The music was composed by Dharan Kumar with cinematography by Saalai Saha ...
'' which became a critical and commercial failure. In 2011, he appeared in the multi-starrer ''Vaanam
''Vaanam'' () is a 2011 Indian Tamil-language action drama film written and directed by Krish. It is the remake of his own Telugu film '' Vedam'' (2010) starring Allu Arjun, Manchu Manoj and Anushka Shetty. It features an ensemble cast ...
'' as Bharath Chakravarthy, a guitarist. Post-release, Bharath clashed with the producer and another actor in the film, Silambarasan
Silambarasan Thesingu Rajendar, nicknamed as Simbu or his initials S. T. R., is an Indian actor, filmmaker and musician in Tamil cinema. He began his acting career by playing roles as a child artist in films directed by his father T. Rajendar, ...
, claiming he did not receive as much promotion and publicity as Silambarasan's character. His next film, the romantic comedy '' Yuvan Yuvathi'' co-starring Rima Kallingal, was followed by Perarasu's action- masala film '' Thiruthani'' co-starring Sunaina. He also made a guest appearance in Vasanthabalan's '' Aravaan''. In 2013, his romantic thriller film ''Ainthu Ainthu Ainthu
''Ainthu Ainthu Ainthu'' (; stylized as ''555'') is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by Sasi. It stars Bharath and Chandini Sreedharan in the main lead roles. Erica Fernandes and Santhanam play pivotal supporting roles ...
'' released in August. The film, which was directed by Sasi, opened to positive reviews with a critic noting he "has put a lot of effort and hardwork to the role" and "is one single reason to watch the film". ''Ainthu Ainthu Ainthu'' is Bharath's only highest-grossing film in his career. Bharath made his Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
debut with ''Jackpot
Jackpot or Jackpot! may refer to:
* A prize, such as a progressive jackpot
* Gardena jackpots, a poker variant
* Jackpot, Nevada, a community on the Nevada–Idaho state border
Comics
* Jackpot (comics), several comic book characters
* ''Jack ...
'' (2013). The film was about four people who try to con one another for money and Bharath played one of them, a Goan named Anthony D’Souza from Puducherry.
Career slump, struggle and resurgence (2014–present)
He returned to Malayalam cinema in 2014 with '' Koothara''. Thereafter, he played his 25th movie in '' Aindhaam Thalaimurai Sidha Vaidhiya Sigamani'' (2014). The film was met with mixed reviews. The next was action film '' Killadi'' (2015). The film was released to negative reviews. Bharath subsequently appeared as autistic youngster in a Malayalam project titled ''1000 – Oru Note Paranja Katha
''1000 : Oru Note Paranja Katha'' (English: 1000 - Story narrated by rupee note) is a 2015 Indian Malayalam thriller film directed by A. R. C. Nair. The film features Bharath, Mukesh and Maqbool Salmaan in the lead roles along with Leema Babu an ...
'' (2015), which garnered poor reviews on release. Later in 2015 he appeared in another Malayalam movie '' Lord Livingstone 7000 Kandi'' (2015), which was an experimental movie.
In 2017, he acted in ''Ennodu Vilayadu
''Ennodu Vilayadu'' () is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language thriller film written and directed by Arun Krishnaswami. The film stars Bharath, Kathir, Sanchita Shetty and Chandini Tamilarasan, with Radha Ravi and Yog Japee in supporting roles. F ...
''. '' Kadugu'' directed by Vijay Milton was a solid comeback, but the film was an average hit. At the end of the year, he appeared in the movie ''Spyder
The SPYDER ("Surface-to-air Python and Derby") is an Israeli short and medium range mobile air defence system developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems with assistance from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). Rafael is the prime contractor an ...
'' starring Mahesh Babu
Ghattamaneni Mahesh Babu (born 9 August 1975) is an Indian actor, producer, media personality, and philanthropist who works mainly in Telugu cinema. He has appeared in more than 25 films, and won several accolades including, eight Nandi Award ...
, a bilingual film directed by AR Murugadoss, playing a negative role in a cameo appearance. The film was a moderate success. ''Kadaisi Bench Karthi
''Kadaisi Bench Karthi'' () is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film directed by Ravi Bhargavan. The film features Bharath, Ruhani Sharma and Angana Roy. The venture began production in July 2016 and had a theatrical release on 27 Oc ...
'' was released on 27 October and received negative reviews. It was a colossal flop. In 2019, ''Simba
Simba is a fictional character and the protagonist of Disney's ''The Lion King'' franchise. Introduced in the 1994 film ''The Lion King'', Walt Disney Animation's 32nd animated feature, the character subsequently appears in '' The Lion King II: ...
'' and '' Pottu'' commercially failed. ''Kaalidas
''Kaalidas'' is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by Sri Senthil. The film stars Bharath and Ann Sheetal, while Suresh Menon and Aadhav Kannadasan portray other pivotal roles. The film began production ...
'', which is directed by Sri Senthil, released on 13 December 2019, featured Bharath as a cop for the first time in his career. The movie was a success for Bharath after a long time.
Filmography
Films
Television
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bharath
Indian male film actors
Tamil male actors
Male actors from Tiruchirappalli
Living people
Male actors in Malayalam cinema
Male actors in Tamil cinema
Male actors in Telugu cinema
21st-century Indian male actors
Male actors from Chennai
1983 births