| Ajayan (Guinness Pakru) | |
| Birth Name: | Ajay Kumar |
| Birth Date: | 1976 8, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Kollam, Kerala, India |
| Notable Works: | Athbhutha Dweepu directed by Vinayan |
| Years Active: | 1986–present |
| Children: | 2 |
| Height: | 76 cm |
Ajay Kumar (born 31 August 1976), popularly known as Guinness Pakru, is an Indian actor. He has made an entry into the Guinness World Records for being the shortest actor (2feet)[1] to play a character in a full-length film. He played the lead role in Athbhutha Dweepu, a Malayalam movie directed by Vinayan. The movie was later dubbed in Tamil and Telugu versions.
The film Athbhutha Dweepu starred him as dwarf prince Gajendra of the kingdom Vamanapuri on a fantasy island, where the men were cursed to be dwarfs and women were of normal height. Around 300 dwarves acted in that film.[2] [3] In 2013, Pakru made his directorial debut with the film Kutteem Kolum.
He was born Ajay Kumar, as the eldest son, of Radhakrishna Pillai and Ambujakshiyamma, on 31 August 1976 at his father's home in Mulavana, Kundara. His father was an auto driver and mother was an L.I.C agent who also worked at a telephone service agency on contract. Soon after his birth his family moved to Kottayam. Since his mother was often transferred they moved from one place to other and finally settled at Pandavam, Aymanam, Kerala.[4] He has two younger sisters, Kavitha and Sangeetha.[5]
He studied at C.M.S L.P School, Chalukunnu until fourth grade[6] and at C.M.S High School, Olassa until S.S.L.C.[7] Then he joined Baselius College, Kottayam and completed his pre degree and graduation from there. He is a BA graduate in economics and has a diploma in computer science.
He started his career as a mimicry artist and later moved to films. He worked as a mimicry artist in mimicry troupes like Mangalam Mimics, Nadirsha's Cochin Universal and Kottayam Nazeer's Cochin Discovery.[8] By age 18 he had completed 1000 mimicry stages.
He debuted through the children's film Ambili Ammavan (The Moon) in 1984. He now also acts in TV serials.
Pakru married Gayathri Mohan 9 March 2006.[9] [10] They have two daughters.[11]
Pakru became a director with the 2013 Malayalam movie Kutteem Kolum, in which he also played the lead role in the movie. He may be the shortest director in filmdom. The film starred Aditya, Sanusha, Laya, Munna, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Vijayaraghavan and Ponnamma Babu. The camera was handled by Vinod Bharathi and music by Shaan Rahman.
Pakru made an entry into the Guinness World Records for being the shortest lead actor (2 ft 6 in (76 cm)) to play a character in a full-length film. His accomplishment is cited on the 167th page of the 2008 edition of the Guinness World Records. He was also presented with a Kerala State Film Award best supporting actor Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for his performance in the film Dishyum in 2006.[12] [13]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Ambili Ammavan | Undapakru | |
| 1987 | Itha Samayamayi | ||
| 1989 | Antharjanam | Pakru | |
| 2000 | Joker | Joker | |
| 2002 | Basket | ||
| Kunjikoonan | Suhasini | ||
| Meesa Madhavan | Tea Boy | ||
| 2003 | Malsaram | Induchoodan | |
| 2005 | Athbhutha Dweepu | Prince Gajendran | Kerala State Film Award (Special Jury Award) |
| Maanikyan | Watchman | ||
| 2006 | Kilukkam Kilukilukkam | Nilagiri Neelakandan | |
| 2007 | Athisayan | Ramu | |
| 2008 | Mulla | Chandran | |
| Twenty:20 | Worker in Tea shop | ||
| 2009 | Ee Pattanathil Bhootham | Balan | |
| Sivapuram | |||
| Puthiya Mukham | Canteen Rajan | ||
| Loudspeaker | Agent | ||
| 2010 | Bodyguard | Kudamaloor Balaji | |
| My Big Father | Kunjumon | ||
| Swantham Bharya Zindabad | Vettoor Sivankutty | ||
| 2011 | Note Out | ||
| Payyans | Japan Babu | ||
| Venicile Vyapari | Kochukrishnan | ||
| Rathinirvedam | |||
| Killadi Raman | Bada Bhai | ||
| 2012 | Snake & Ladder | ||
| Perinoru Makan | Murugan | ||
| 2013 | My Fan Ramu | Banker Pappan | |
| Housefull | Dr. Shenayi | ||
| Kutteem Kolum | Vinayakan | ||
| Immanuel | Kannadi Kavi Shivan | ||
| Abhiyum Njanum | Veerabhadran | ||
| 2014 | Ring Master | Achankunju | |
| 2015 | 6 | Vedalam | |
| 3 Wicketinu 365 Runs | |||
| 2017 | Punyalan Private Limited | Bank Manager | |
| 2019 | Ilayaraja | Vanajan | |
| Fancy Dress | Dikru/Ben | ||
| Mr. Pavanayi 99.99 | |||
| 2020 | Veerapakru | ||
| 2024 | Kudumbasthreeyum Kunjadum | [14] | |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Dishyum | Amitabh | Tamil Nadu State Film Award (Special Prizes) |
| 2007 | Arputha Theevu | Kajendran | |
| 2009 | Thalai Ezhuthu | Kirthik | |
| 2011 | Kaavalan | Meera's friend | |
| 7 Aum Arivu | Aravind's friend | ||
| 2012 | Ariyaan | ||
| 2023 | Bagheera | Pakru | |