Bala (actor)

Bala was born on 19 December 1982,^[1] into a family associated with the Tamil film industry. His grandfather, A. K. Velan, owned the film production house Arunachalam Studios^[2] 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. Bala has two siblings: a brother and a sister. His brother, Siva, is a film director and cinematographer, while his sister is a scientist.^[3][4] 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.^[2]

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.^[5] The film, directed by his brother Siva, the film was a critical and commercial success.^[6]

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.

Bala is religious and a devotee of god Shiva.^[7] On 27 August 2010, he married, for a second time, Idea Star Singer-fame Malayali singer Amrutha Suresh.^[8] They have a daughter, born in September 2012.^[9] The couple divorced in 2019 after living separately for four years.^[10][11]

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.^[12][13] On 22 October 2024, Bala married, for the fourth time, his cousin, Kokila.^[14]

One of Bala's former partners accused him of rape and abuse. His ex-wife Amrutha Suresh alleged forgery in divorce case.^[15] He was arrested on charges of outraging a woman's modesty following ex-wife's complaint.^[16] Bala has been arrested for threatening a YouTuber and his friend after trespassing his flat.^[17]