Atharvaa | |
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Born | 7 May 1989 |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 2010–present |
Parent(s) |
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Relatives | S. Siddalingaiah (grandfather) |
Atharvaa Murali (born 7 May 1989), known mononymously as Atharvaa, is an Indian film actor working in Tamil cinema. The son of actor Murali, Atharvaa began his acting career with Baana Kaathadi (2010). He then garnered critical acclaim for his performance as a youngster suffering from delusion in the romantic thriller Muppozhudhum Un Karpanaigal (2012), before signing on to feature in Bala's period film Paradesi (2013). His role as a rural villager held as a slave in a tea plantation became his breakthrough performance, earning Atharvaa a Filmfare Award for Best Actor in Tamil.
Atharva was born as the second child to film actor Murali and his wife, Shobha, on 7 May 1989 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. He also has an elder sister, Kavya, and a younger brother, Aakash. His grandfather Siddalingaiah is a famous Kannada film director.
After completing school, Atharvaa chose to pursue a career in films and began to undertake classes with stunt choreographers to prepare himself physically as an actor. In 2009, his father found him an offer to play the lead role in a film to be produced by Sathya Jyothi Films and directed by Badri Venkatesh. Titled Baana Kaathadi, the film launched in March 2009 and had Atharvaa pair up with fellow rookie actress Samantha. Portraying a youngster from the Royapuram slum area, he stayed in the locality for forty five days to learn about their lifestyle, while he also learnt to fly a kite for the film, canning scenes at the Gujarat Kite Festival. The film, which also had Murali making a special appearance, released in August 2010 to positive reviews and his performance was praised, with Sify.com writing he "makes a promising debut and he dances and emotes well". Similarly a critic from Rediff.com added "romance is a cake-walk" for the actor, drawing comparison with his father's performances in romantic roles, though noted "his dialogue delivery is a little too melodramatic". He subsequently gained recognition at the Edison Awards for Best Debut Actor, while also receiving a nomination from the Vijay Awards in the same category. The success of the film prompted Murali to begin pre-production on a Tamil and Kannada language bilingual film which would feature Atharvaa. However, a month after Baana Kaathadi's release, his father Murali died after suffering cardiac arrest. Atharvaa consequently took a break to spend time with his family, before beginning work on a different venture.