Yogi Babu
Indian actor and comedian (born 1985)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yogi Babu (born 22 July 1985[2]) is an Indian actor and comedian who appears in Tamil films. Yogi started his acting career from 2009 and did many minor roles and got his breakthrough after Kalakalappu and Maan Karate, as of now he is credited as one of the highest paid comedians in Tamil Cinema.[3][4][5][6] He is an recipient of two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and five SIIMA Awards.[7][8][9][10]
- Actor
- comedian
Yogi Babu | |
|---|---|
Babu in 2018 | |
| Born | 22 July 1985 |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Spouse |
Manju Bhargavi (m. 2020) |
| Children | 2 |
| Honours | Kalaimamani (2019)[1] |
Early and personal life
Yogi Babu was born on 22 July 1985 in Arani. His father was a havildar in the Indian Army, so Babu travelled extensively as a child, and as a result of which he studied in Jammu in the early 1990s.[11]
Babu married Manju Bhargavi on 5 February 2020 in an intimate ceremony held at their ancestral temple in Tiruttani and the couple have two children.[12][13]
Career
Babu worked as an assistant director in the Lollu Sabha, and helped writing scenes for two years.[14][15] He made his feature film debut in the Ameer-starring Yogi (2009) as an aspiring actor and subsequently adapted the name of the film as a prefix for his stage name. He appeared as a goon in Paiyaa. He later appeared as a pimp in Sundar C's Kalakalappu (2012). In 2013, he appeared in his first extended comedy role with Pattathu Yaanai (2013)[16] while he also featured in the Hindi film, Chennai Express alongside Shah Rukh Khan.[17]
He then performed as a comedy rival to Sivakarthikeyan in Maan Karate (2014) and as eerie comedian in Yaamirukka Bayamey (2014). In 2015, he appeared in over a dozen films and won positive reviews for his work in Kaaka Muttai (2015) and Kirumi (2015).[18] Yogi Babu had a breakthrough year in 2016, featuring in 20 films, and winning critical acclaim for his role alongside Vijay Sethupathi in Aandavan Kattalai (2016).[19] This was followed by his role in Kolamavu Kokila (2018) where his one-sided lover portrayal opposite Nayanthara was critically acclaimed[20] while the Kalyana Vayasu song[21] and his antics in it went viral. He appears as supporting character in film Pariyerum Perumal (2018), the film released to positive reviews from critics, with critics praising the comedy and performance of Yogi Babu.[22] He acted for the first time as lead role in Dharmaprabhu (2019) which he play of role of Yamantaka.[23] He played a key role in Gurkha (2019). Babu is a security guard in this hostage drama written and directed by Sam Anton.[24]
Starting his career as a comic relief in many films, he has also played leading roles in small budget films and garnered critical acclaim.[25] In the 2021, political satire Mandela, he played the eponymous character whose single vote would decide the results of the panchayat elections and was very well received.[26] He later played in leading roles as Pei Mama (2021), Panni Kutty (2022), Bommai Nayagi (2023), Yaanai Mugathaan (2023), Lucky Man (2023),[27] Thookudurai (2024), Boat (2024), Kuzhanthaigal Munnetra Kazhagam (2025), Jora Kaiya Thattunga (2025), School (2025), Kenatha Kanom (2026) and Sannidhanam P.O (2026).
Filmography
Tamil films
2000s
| Year | Title | Role(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Sirithal Rasipen | Henchman | Uncredited role[28] |
| Yogi | Aspiring actor | Credited as Babu | |
2010s
2020s
Other language films
| Year | Title | Role(s) | Language | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Chennai Express | Sri Lankan smuggler | Hindi | ||
| 2014 | Jaihind 2 | Private school association member | Telugu | Uncredited role; multilingual film | |
| Abhimanyu | Kannada | ||||
| 2015 | Kaki: Sound of Warning | Chitram | Telugu | Bilingual film | |
| 2024 | Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil | Saravanan | Malayalam | [67] | |
| Trap City | English | [68] | |||
| 2025 | Gurram Paapi Reddy | Udraju | Telugu | [69] | |
| Mark | Solomon | Kannada | |||
| 2026 | Couple Friendly | Shankar | Telugu | [70] | |
| 2027 | Harivarasanam † | TBA | Malayalam | [71] | |
| Raaka † | TBA | Telugu | Filming | [72] | |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004–2007 | Lollu Sabha | Various Roles | |
| 2012–2013 | My Name Is Mangamma | Pappu Dhadha | |
| 2021 | Navarasa | Velusamy | |
| 2024 | Chutney Sambar | Sachin Babu "Sachu" / Vignesh Babu | [73] |
