Amar Choudary, better known by his screen name Jiiva, is an Indian film actor who predominantly works in Tamil film industry. Jiiva started his career in the film industry as a child actor and his first role as an adult was in Aasai Aasaiyai (2003). The actor, known for playing versatile roles in his movies, is best remembered for his performances in Raam, and Siva Manasula Shakti.
Early Life
Born on January 4th, 1984 in Chennai, Jiiva is the son of renowned film producer R. B. Choudary and is the youngest of four brothers. His eldest brother, B. Suresh is a producer who produces movies under Super Good Films, his second brother, Jeevan is an entrepreneur, and his third brother, Jithan Ramesh is an upcoming actor in the Tamil film industry.
Personal Life
In November 2007, Jiiva married his childhood friend Supriya, who works as an interior designer, in New Delhi. The two met in 1994 when Jiiva was studying in a school in T. Nagar. The couple has a son named Sparsh who was born in 2010.
Movie Career
Jiiva started his acting career at a very young age; he appeared as a child actor in several movies produced by his father before making his debut as the lead actor in Aasai Aasaiyai. The movie directed by Ravi Mariya released in January 2003, where he played the role of a private detective. The movie was received with negative reviews and it was a commercial failure. His other release of the year, Thithikudhe, also failed at the box office.
The actor had his first major hit in 2005 when he appeared in Ameer Sultan's thriller film Raam, where he played the role of an autistic youngster who has obsessive adoration for his mother. The movie, also featuring Gajala, Saranya Ponvannam, and Rahman, was screened at the International Film Festival in Goa and at the Cyprus International Film Festival, where Jiiva won the Best Actor Award. In 2006, the actor had a disappointing year, he appeared in Dishyum co-starring Sandhya, Nassar, and Venkat Prabhu. In the same year, the actor made his Malayalam film debut with Keerthi Chakra directed by Major Ravi, which was later dubbed in Tamil and released as Aran. His other film of the year was E. All his movies of the year were either average hits or flops.
Jiiva had a great start to the year 2007 as he starred in Kattradhu Tamizh playing the role of a Tamil literature graduate who is frustrated with the inequality prevailing in the society and turns into a psychopath. The movie opened to rave reviews, and Jiiva's performance in the movie was lauded by the critics. After completing the shoot for the movie, Jiiva said that he had to undergo a therapy to come out of the character as it was too emotional. In 2009, the actor was cast in the lead role for M. Rajesh's directorial debut, Siva Manasula Sakthi alongside Anuya Bhagvath and Santhanam. The movie was a hit and it was later remade in Telugu as Shiva Manasulo Shruti with Sudheer Babu and Regina Cassandra playing the lead roles.
In 2011, Jiiva played a dual role for the first time in Sai Ramani's Singam Puli co-starring Divya Spandana, Honey Rose, and Santhanam. His next release in the same year was the political thriller Ko directed by K. V. Anand, which opened to positive reviews, with Jiiva's performance being applauded by the critics. His next films Rowthiram and Vandhaan Vendraan released in quick successions and both received mixed to negative critical reviews.
In 2012, Jiiva co-starred with R. Madhavan and Vijay in S. Shankar's comedy-drama film Nanban, which was the remake of the super-hit Hindi film 3 Idiots. The movie released to highly positive reviews and was a blockbuster hit. In the same year, the actor appeared in two more movies, Mugamoodi and Gautham Menon's Neethaane En Ponvasantham. A couple of years later, in 2014, the actor appeared in Ravi Chandran's directorial debut Yaan, which opened to negative critical reviews and failed at the box-office.
Jiiva starred in his 25th movie, Pokkiri Raja, that released in March 2016. The movie directed by Ramprakash Rayappa and co-starring Sibiraj and Hansika Motwani received negative reviews and failed at the box-office. His other project of the year includes P. S. Ramnath's Thirunaal alongside Nayanthara.