Kaali Venkat

Indian actor

Kaali Venkat

Born|

Venkat

(1982-11-16) 16 November 1982 (age 42)

Kovilpatti, Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, India

Occupation| Actor
Years active| 2008–present
Spouse|

Janani

(m. 2017)​

Kaali Venkat (born 16 November 1982) is an Indian actor who mainly appears in Tamil language films in supporting roles.[1]

## Personal life

[edit]

Venkat hails from Kudaiyadevanpatti[2] a village near Kovilpatti.[3] Venkat used to act in dramas during his school days. With an ambition to act in films he moved from his village to Chennai in 1997 to enter the Tamil film industry.[2] In Chennai, he was doing jobs like selling groceries in order to survive until he met director Vijay Prabakaran. Prabakaran, who Venkat considers his guru, coached and taught him "everything I know about cinema today".[2]

Venkat got married on 30 October 2017 in Chennai.[4]

## Career

[edit]

Before entering films, he worked in theatre.[5] The first film Venkat acted was also by Vijay Prabhakaran, Thasaiyinai Thee Sudinum. The film failed to release but Venkat decided to keep his character name in it, Kaali, as his screen name after everybody on the set was calling him by that name.[3] He then acted in various short films made for the Kalaignar TV show Naalaya Iyakkunar and won the Best Actor in a Series Award in Season 3 of the show.[2][3] After a series of small roles in various feature films, he first gained attention with his role in the action drama Thadaiyara Thaakka. The short films fetched him small roles in bigger projects like Kalakalappu and Udhayam NH4.[3] He played a substantial role in mystery thriller Thegidi, which went on to become a sleeper hit and Venkat stated that he was flooded with friend requests on Facebook post the film's release.[2]

Venkat has acted in a number of films, including Mundaasupatti (2014), India Pakistan (2015), Urumeen (2015), Eetti (2015) and Kaathadi (2018).[3] Mundaasupatti, based on the same-titled short film which Venkat was also part of,[3] will see him playing the role of an assistant photographer called Azhagasami.[2] In 2016, Kaali portrayed a drunkard father in Irudhi Suttru and a loyal friend of a politician in Kodi. In 2020, he appeared in Suriya's Soorarai Potru.[6] Kaali Venkat bagged the award for his role in Gargi (2022).[7][8][9]

In 2024, he has been on a roll this year with memorable performances in films like Captain Miller, Kurangu Pedal and Lubber Pandhu, among others.[10] He played the lead in Dhonima. His character is a flawed alcoholic who brings nothing but trouble to his family.[11]

## Filmography

[edit]

### Films

[edit]

†  | Denotes films that have not yet been released

|

Year | Title | Role | Notes

|
|
|

2010 |  Va | Mano |
Agam Puram | Sangu's henchman | Uncredited[12]
Nellu | Kaalimuthu |
2011 | Sabash Sariyana Potti | Sekhar |
Theneer Viduthi | Tea stall owner |
Mounaguru | Hospital compounder |
2012 | Thadaiyara Thaakka | Alphonse |
Kalakalappu | Raghu's friend |
2013 | Udhayam NH4 | Constable Anbu |
Pizza II: Villa | Ponraj |
Vizha | Paandi |
2014 | Vu | Veerakumar |
Kerala Nattilam Pengaludane | Kesavan |
Vaayai Moodi Pesavum | Palani |
Thegidi | Nambi |
Poovarasam Peepee | Magudi |
Mundaasupatti | Azhagumani |
2015 | India Pakistan | Selvam |
Maari | Aarumugam |
Sathuran | Kumar |
Urumeen | Suda |
Eetti | Senthil |
2016 | Irudhi Suttru | Saamikannu/Samuel |
Saala Khadoos | Hindi film
Miruthan | Chinamalai |
Mapla Singam | Anbuchelvan's friend |
Darling 2 | Rafi |
Theri | Ganesan |
Katha Solla Porom | Watchman |
Iraivi | Bhagyam |
Raja Manthiri | Suriya |
Kodi | Bhagat Singh |
2017 | Enakku Vaaitha Adimaigal | Mohideen |
Kattappava Kanom | Keechan |
Maragadha Naanayam | Chidambaram |
Pichuva Kaththi | Sampath |
Mersal | Poongodi's father |
Uruthikol | Munusamy |
Annadurai | Karna |
Velaikkaran | Vinoth |
2018 | Titanic Kadhalum Kavundhu Pogum | Unknown | Unreleased
Nagesh Thiraiyarangam | Kaala |
Kaathadi | Muruga |
Irumbu Thirai | Gnanavel Raja |
Ghajinikanth | Uthaman |
Ratsasan | Venkat |
Aan Devathai | Kaali |
Maari 2 | Aarumugam |
2019 | Kazhugu 2 | Kaali |
Magamuni | Doctor Raghu |
Petromax | Thangam |
2020 | Soorarai Pottru | Kaali |
Thatrom Thookrom | Pandian |
Kanni Raasi | Detective Jaishankar |
2021 | Eeswaran | Astrologer Kaali |
Sarpatta Parambarai | Koni Chandran |
4 Sorry | Selvi's uncle |
Thalli Pogathey | Omkar |
Onaan | Guna |
2022 | Veerapandiyapuram | Solomon |
Ayngaran | Ezhumalai |
Don | Professor Arivu |
1945 | Krishna |
Gargi | Indrans Kaliyaperumal | Won, SIIMA Award for Best Supporting Actor
Won, Ananda Vikatan Cinema Award for Best Supporting Actor
Won, Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Tamil
Dejavu | Ezhumalai |
Sinam | Kadal |
Nitham Oru Vaanam | Prabha's assistant |
Gatta Kusthi | Sattanathan |
2023 | Rudhran | Shakti |
Veeran | Narayana |
Kadapuraa Kalaikuzhu | Thangarasu |
Aneethi | Thiru's father |
Echo | Murugan |
Pizza 3: The Mummy | Daamu |
Harkara | Postman Kaali |
Kida | Vellaichamy |
2024 | Captain Miller | Kumastha Kanagasabai |
Double Tuckerr | Right |
Dear | Saravanan |
Kurangu Pedal | Kandasamy |
Dhonima | Kotti | [13]
Lubber Pandhu | Karuppaiya | [14]
Baby John | Amba's father | Hindi Movie
Alangu |  | [15]

### Web series

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Platform  | Notes

|
|
|
|

2018  | Vella Raja | Pugazhendi  | Amazon Prime Video | [16]
2019  | Thiravam | Sengi  | ZEE5 | [17]
2022  | Paper Rocket | Francis  |
2024  | Parachute | Charles  | Disney+ Hotstar |

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Kaali makes an impact as comedian". Sify. 29 April 2014. Archived from the original on 16 July 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
2. ^ a b c d e f Gupta, Rinku (1 May 2014). "'Flooded with friend requests post Thegidi'". New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
3. ^ a b c d e f ""Vijay Sethupathi has not changed one bit", Kaali Venkat". Behindwoods.com. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
4. ^ "Jaṉaṉiyaik karam piṭittār kāḷi veṅkaṭ". The Hindu (in Tamil). 30 October 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
5. ^ B., Jayabhuvaneshwari (25 September 2024). "The accidental actor". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
6. ^ K, Janani (18 October 2016). "Kodi will be a milestone in my career: Kaali Venkat". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
7. ^ "Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards For Best Supporting Actor".
8. ^ "SIIMA 2023: Kaali Venkat, Yogi Babu, & GV Prakash walk the red carpet in style".
9. ^ "68th Filmfare Awards South 2023: 'RRR', 'Nna Thaan Case Kodu', 'Ponniyin Selvan 1' and 'Kantara' win big".
10. ^ "It's only now that people know me by my name: Kaali Venkat".
11. ^ "Kaali Venkat: I am hesitant to play a conventional hero".
12. ^ "Agam Puram Full Movie | Shaam | Meenakshi | Anandaraj | Sundar C Babu | 12b Shaam | Sham New Movies". Ayngaran. 2 December 2019. Event occurs at 21:38 - via YouTube.
13. ^ "Kaali Venkat & Roshini Prakash's 'Dhonima' teaser". Times of India. 15 June 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
14. ^ "Harish Kalyan And Dinesh's Lubber Pandhu To Release On September 20". Times Now. 2 September 2024.
15. ^ Kumar, Akshay (11 December 2024). "Alangu Trailer: Story of labourers caught in inter-state strife". Cinema Express. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
16. ^ "Bobby Simha makes his web series debut with Vella Raja". The Indian Express. 7 December 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
17. ^ "Thiravam Review: Prasanna fuels this middling retelling of the Ramar Pillai story". Cinema Express. Retrieved 9 June 2021.

## External links

[edit]

* Kaali Venkat at IMDb

*[m.]: married