# Bala (actor)

Bala Kumar (born 19 December 1982) is an Indian actor and director, who works in Malayalam and Tamil films. He made his debut in the Telugu film 2 Much (2002). He is well known for his roles in films such as Big B (2007), Sound of Boot (2008), Puthiya Mukham (2009), Hero (2012), Veeram (2014), Ennu Ninte Moideen (2015), Pulimurugan (2016), Aanakkallan (2018), Lucifer (2019), and Thambi (2019).

## Early life

Bala was born on 19 December 1982, into a family associated with the Tamil film industry. His grandfather, A. K. Velan, owned the film production house Arunachalam Studios and worked as a producer and screenwriter. Bala's father, Jayakumar, was a documentary photographer and short film director with over 400 works to his credit. He has two siblings: a brother and a sister. His brother, Siva, is a film director and cinematographer, while his sister is a scientist. Bala initially pursued a Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) degree in engineering but later switched to a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA). While studying for his BBA, he began his career in acting.

## Career

He made his debut in Telugu with 2 Much (2002) and in Tamil with Anbu (2003). Since then he acted and found success in a number of Malayalam films. He received appreciation for his role in the 2009 film Puthiya Mukham. He made a comeback to Tamil cinema in 2014 with the Ajith Kumar-starrer Veeram. The film, directed by his brother Siva, the film was a critical and commercial success.
Bala made his directorial debut with the 2012 Malayalam action film The Hitlist, in which he played the leading role. In 2015 and 2016, he performed notable supporting roles in the period romantic drama Ennu Ninte Moideen and the action film Pulimurugan, and Lucifer in 2019, all three were the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time.

## Personal life

Bala is religious and a devotee of god Shiva. On 27 August 2010, he married second time to Idea Star Singer-fame Malayali singer Amrutha Suresh. They have a daughter, born in September 2012. The couple divorced in 2019 after living separately for four years.
On 5 September 2021, he married Elizabeth Udayan, who is a doctor by profession. In an interview in 2023, Bala revealed he was living separately from Elizabeth. On 22 October 2024, Bala married for the fourth time to his cousin Kokila.

## Controversies

Bala’s one of the former partners accuses him of rape and abuse. His ex-wife Amritha Suresh alleges forgery in divorce case. He was arrested on charges of outraging woman’s modesty following ex-wife’s complaint. Bala has been arrested for threatening a YouTuber and his friend after trespassing his flat.

## Filmography
### Malayalam films

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2005 | Arabikadhakal | Alavudeen Adbulla Hussan | |
| 2006 | Kalabham | Shajahan aka Arjun | |
| 2007 | Hareendran Oru Nishkalankan | Commn. Rajan Mathew | |
| 2007 | Big B | Murugan John Kurishingal | |
| 2008 | Aayudham | Anwar | |
| 2008 | Bullet | Flop | |
| 2008 | SMS | Kichan | |
| 2008 | Sound of Boot | Rahul Krishna | |
| 2008 | Drona 2010 | Anandapadmanabhan | |
| 2008 | Chempada | Manu | |
| 2009 | Venalmaram | Vinayakan | |
| 2009 | Puthiya Mukham | Sudhi | |
| 2009 | Sagar Alias Jacky Reloaded | Special Appearance | |
| 2010 | Black Stallion | Ameer Usman | |
| 2010 | Alexander The Great | Manu | |
| 2010 | Ringtone | Krishna | |
| 2010 | Avan | P. V. Krishnan | |
| 2010 | Patham Adhyayam | Achu | |
| 2010 | Sahasram | Vaishakhan | |
| 2010 | Chaverpada | Visal Sabhapathy | |
| 2011 | Kayam | Sasikuttan | |
| 2011 | Priyappetta Nattukare | Satheesh Kumar | |
| 2011 | Sivapuram | Shivan | |
| 2011 | Sthalam | | |
| 2011 | Makaramanju | Rajaraja Varma | |
| 2012 | Mullassery Madhavan Kutty Nemom P. O. | Khalid | |
| 2012 | Hero | Uday | |
| 2012 | Musafir | Sakthidharan | |
| 2012 | The Hitlist | Vikram Rathore | Directorial debut |
| 2013 | Cowboy | Xavier | |
| 2015 | Ennu Ninte Moideen | Sethu | |
| 2016 | Pulimurugan | Shiva | |
| 2017 | Nilavariyathe | Pokkan | |
| 2018 | Wonder Boys | | |
| 2018 | Aanakkallan | Suryanarayanan | |
| 2019 | Lucifer | Bhadran | Cameo appearance |
| 2019 | 1948 Kaalam Paranjathu | | |
| 2019 | An International Local Story | | |
| 2019 | Fancy Dress | Gabriel | |
| 2021 | My Dear Machans | Ranganathan | |
| 2022 | Shefeekkinte Santhosham | Ameer | |
| 2024 | Bad Boyz | | |

### Tamil films

| Year | Title | Role |
| 2003 | Anbu | Anbu |
| 2003 | Kadhal Kisu Kisu | Sriram |
| 2004 | Amma Appa Chellam | Chellam |
| 2006 | Kalinga | Kalinga |
| 2009 | Manjal Veyil | Ravi |
| 2014 | Veeram | Murugan |
| 2019 | Thambi | MLA Manimaaran |
| 2021 | Annaatthe | Arjun |

### Other language films

| Year | Title | Role | Language | Notes |
| 2002 | 2 Much | Bullebbai | Telugu | Credited as Bala Kumar |
| 2010 | Chapter 6 | | Telugu | |
| 2012 | The Hitlist | Vikram Rathore | Kannada | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Channel | Language | Notes |
| 2007 | Idea Star Singer | Celebrity Judge | Asianet | Malayalam | |
| 2011 | Vivel Big Break | Judge | Surya TV | Malayalam | |
| 2015 | Uggram Ujjwalam | Judge | Mazhavil Manorama | Malayalam | |
| 2019 | Thakarppan Comedy | Judge | Mazhavil Manorama | Malayalam | |
| 2020 | Snehathode Veetil Ninnu | Himself | Mazhavil Manorama | Malayalam | Quarantine special show |
| 2021 | Star Magic | Mentor | Flowers TV | Malayalam | |
| 2022-2023 | Comedy Masters | Judge | Amrita TV | Malayalam | |
| 2023 | Funs Upon A Time season 3 | Judge | Amrita TV | Malayalam | |