Popular Tamil star, Ajith Kumar, aka Thala Ajith is all set to celebrate his 48th birthday today. Ajith Kumar is in such a phase of his career that critics and bad reviews don't matter anymore at the box office. He has won the King Of South Cinema Poll twice, his fan following lies all across the globe, and not just the country. His last few films, including the likes of Vedalam, Vivegam, and Viswasam, all were blockbusters even though their critical consensus were love. He is a versatile actor, never fears from taking risks and is quite unlike most of his peers.  Whether it’s playing the role of an effeminate dancer in Varalaru, the cancer-stricken patient in Pavithra, the stylish conman in Mankatha or the evil twin in Vaali —he has done justice to each of the roles and how!

also read: Throwback pics of Anusha Sharma’s childhood made fans nostalgic

Sure, Ajith loves to do massy roles and it is more for his incredibly huge fanbase. But if you have followed his career, you know he loves to do diverse roles even in his mainstream movies. As Ajith Kumar aka Thala, as his fans call him, turns 48 today, let's look at five movies of his in the past two decades where the superstar went beyond his messy persona!

Asoka

 In this Shah Rukh Khan film, Ajith Kumar played Prince Susima, Asoka's scheming, jealous step-brother who wants him dead. This is one of those rare times when Ajith played a negative role without a double role to balance it out, unlike the next entry.

Varalaru

Ajith is a fine performer and that is established in Varalaru, where he excelled both as an effeminate dancer and a remorseless killer. Ajith won a Filmfare award for the Best Actor and rightly so!

Mankatha

Sure, he has done grey roles, but Ajith in Mankatha was an evil guy. A manipulative, remorseless schemer, who doesn't mind breaking hearts and killing people, Ajith was quite fun to watch as delivered one punchline after another in this Venkat Prabhu film.

English Vinglish

Ajith has a cameo in the Tamil version of this Sridevi film (Amitabh Bachchan did the same role in Hindi). It was fun to watch Ajith let himself loose in a heartwarming hilarious role that makes us wish he had more screentime.

Vaali

In this highly engaging thriller with some really terrific songs, Ajith plays twins. One of whom is a mute stalker who lusts after his trusting brother's wife. Icky!

also read: Birthday Special: Anushka Sharma is daughter of army man; some more interesting facts inside