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 Jai is an Indian film actor who works in the Tamil film industry. He made his debut in films in the year 2002, with a supporting role of actor Vijay’s younger brother in the film ‘Bhagavathi’. Later in 2007, he successfully auditioned his way through bagging the lead role in Venkat Prabhu’s sports comedy ‘Chennai 600028’, which emerged as a cult classic. His subsequent role of an unemployed Madurai lad of the 80s, Azhagar, in M. Sasikumar’s ‘Subramaniapuram’ was critically acclaimed. Jai went on to portray varied dramatic roles and characters, such as a villager in ‘Goa’ in 2010, a timid factory worker in ‘Engaeyum Eppothum’ in 2011 and a customer care executive in the romantic drama ‘Raja Rani’ that released in 2013.
Early Life of Jai
Jai was born on April 6, 1985, into a family of musicians in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. His uncle Deva is a noted music composer who predominantly works in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada cinemas. He went to the United Kingdom to learn keyboard and completed fifth grade in the instrument from the Trinity College in London. Before making his film debut in lead roles, Jai worked as a keyboardist in several movies with his uncle Deva and cousins Srikanth Deva and Bobo Shashi, who are also musicians. Even today, he likes to be involved in the music of his movies.
 Career of Jai
Jai made his debut in the film ‘Bhagavathi’ in a supporting role. The film became a huge commercial hit, post which Jai worked as a keyboardist for seven years in Srikanth Deva’s team. In this period, Jai was offered lead roles in multiple films but Jai did not go for them.
Later, Jai was recommended by his friend, singer Yugendran, to audition for a role in Venkat Prabhu's directorial debut ‘Chennai 600028’, it was a sports comedy based on gully cricket. He was the only actor to be auditioned amongst the eleven lead actors in the film, eventually becoming the final selection. The film released in 2007 and shortly after release, it was described as a cult classic and was successful at the box office. The success of the film began an association with Venkat Prabhu and Jai has repeatedly collaborated in Prabhu's ventures through leading as well as cameo roles. He was then selected to play the lead role by debutant director Sasikumar in ‘Subramaniapuram’. The film, set in a Madurai village of the 1980s, told the story of a series of violent happenings in the backdrop of a love story. Upon release in 2008, the film went on to become a blockbuster at the box office. Jai's performance too received reviews from critics. After this, Jai has been seen in many cameo roles. Jai subsequently chose to make a switch from acting in off-beat films and attempted to make a career as an actor in commercial films.
 Jai’s next release was Ahmed's ‘Vaamanan’, an action thriller co-featuring Priya Anand, Lakshmi Rai and Rahman. Released in 2009, it marked Jai’s first commercial role. The film did not replicate the commercial success of his previous ventures, though his performance was praised. His subsequent release ‘Adhe Neram Adhe Idam’ opened to unanimous negative reviews. He was then seen in Venkat Prabhu's romantic comedy ‘Goa’ (2010), where he played a villager on a coming-of-age trip to Goa, alongside Vaibhav Reddy and Premgi Amaren. He next appeared in ‘Aval Peyar Thamizharasi’ with different looks throughout the film, reflecting his character's growth at different stages. His next release was a romantic one named ‘Kanimozhi’. After this he took a break from films.
Then again Jai made a successful comeback. Signing up to play a role in A. R. Murugadoss' debut production ‘Engaeyum Eppothum’, he portrayed a timid working class professional. His portrayal was well received and the film performed well commercially. Jai then accepted a secondary role in Atlee's ‘Raja Rani’ (2013). His performance of Surya’s role earned him a nomination in the Best Supporting Actor category at the Filmfare Awards South. His next release in 2013 was the fantasy comedy ‘Naveena Saraswathi Sabatham’, where his performance failed to impress. His next release was ‘Vadacurry’, a comedy venture released in 2014, where he featured opposite Swati Reddy. He also played the lead role in romantic comedy ‘Thirumanam Ennum Nikkah’. In 2015, he appeared in action film ‘Valiyavan’ that received mixed to negative reviews. In 2016, Jai has appeared in another action film ‘Pugazh’. Some of his other films are ‘Balloon’, ‘Jarugandi’, ‘Madhura Raja’, ‘Neeya 2’, ‘Party’ etc. Apart from films, Jai is also interested in car racing and has stated to have been inspired by Ajith Kumar. In June 2014, he participated in his first car racing tournament, the JK Tyre National Racing Championship held in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu.
Filmography of Jai
Jai has appeared in the following films thus far in his career, in lead and cameo roles:
| Year |
Films |
| 2002 |
Bhagavathi |
| 2007 |
Chennai 600028 |
| 2008 |
Subramaniapuram |
| 2008 |
Saroja |
| 2009 |
Vaamanan |
| 2009 |
Adhe Neram Adhe Idam |
| 2010 |
Goa |
| 2010 |
Aval Peyar Thamizharasi |
| 2010 |
Kanimozhi |
| 2011 |
Ko |
| 2011 |
Engaeyum Eppothum |
| 2013 |
Raja Rani |
| 2013 |
Naveena Saraswathi Sabatham |
| 2013 |
Biriyani |
| 2014 |
Bramman |
| 2014 |
Vadacurry |
| 2014 |
Thirumanam Ennum Nikkah |
| 2015 |
Valiyavan |
| 2015 |
Masss |
| 2015 |
Vaalu |
| 2016 |
Pugazh |
| 2016 |
Idhu Namma Aalu |
| 2016 |
Tamilselvanum Thaniyar Anjalum |
| 2016 |
Chennai 600028 II |
| 2017 |
Enakku Vaaitha Adimaigal |
| 2017 |
Sangili Bungili Kadhava Thorae |
| 2017 |
Balloon |
| 2018 |
Kalakalappu 2 |
| 2018 |
Jarugandi |
| 2019 |
Madhura Raja |
| 2019 |
Neeya 2 |
| 2019 |
Party |
| 2020 |
Breaking News |
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