Avinash


Avinash Yelandur is an Indian actor who stars predominantly in South Indian language films, notably in the Kannada and Tamil film industries. He has been in the industry for two decades and has acted in over 200 films. Known for his authentic portrayal of complex characters and versatility, Avinash is one of the most sought-after actors in the supporting category. He is one of the few actors to enjoy both critical and commercial success.

Early life

Avinash was born in the town of Yelandur in Mysore district, in the Mysore State, to Indira and B. K. Narayana Rao, a lawyer. After completing his education at Mysore's Hardwicke High School, Avinash went on to attend University of Mysore, where he obtained his master's degree in English literature. Drawn to theatre and cinema from a young age, he had an active theater life at Mysore and later at Bangalore. During the time, he taught English at the National Institute of Engineering, Mysore, and later at the MES college in Bangalore.

Career

Theatre

His first job after his M.Phil was that of an English lecturer in National Institute of Engineering, Mysore. He continued to teach at MES College Bangalore as one of the most popular lecturers of the college. However, soon his passion for theatre took him abroad to train in acting at Mermaid Theatre, London. On returning home, he worked in Kannada theatre as part of the renowned B Jayashree's troupe "Spandana" and with the Shankar Nag as part of his "Sanketh" for many years.

Films

Films were a natural choice for Avinash after his debut in G. V. Iyer's "Madhvacharya" based on the life and times of the twelfth-century enlightened master as the protagonist Saint Madhva, a film that won several national and state awards. His debut in mainstream cinema however, was with Shivarajkumar's Samyuktha, which went in to become a hit with audiences, ushering him into the world of South Indian cinema. Since then, he has since acted in over 400 films in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and English in a career spanning nearly three decades. He has worked with over two hundred directors such as K. Balachander, Girish Kasaravalli, T. N. Seetharam, A. R. Murugadoss, Puri Jagannadh, P. Vasu, Vetri Maran, Suseedran, Yograj Bhat, Suri, Gautham Menon and T. S. Nagabharana.
Avinash's most memorable acting roles to date are in Girish Kasarvalli's National award-winning Dweepa, where he played the protagonist opposite actress Soundarya, T. S. Nagabharana's National award-winning Chinnari Muththa, Chiguridha Kanasu and Singarrevva, and T. N. Seetaram's National Award-winning Mathadana. P. Vasu's hit series Chandramukhi, Apta Mitra and Aptarakshaka were high points in his career and have fetched him several national, state smf popular awards. 5Ters, an experimental children's film in Hindi gave him the opportunity of playing good and evil characters and he considers the film to be a high point of his career.
Apart from his diverse repertoire, he has had the privilege of playing major roles alongside doyens such as Rajkumar, Rajnikanth, Mammooty, Vishnuvardhan, stars such as Nagarjun, Venkatesh, Shivarajkumar, Vijay, Vikram, Ajith, and also contemporary stars like Puneeth Rajkumar, Yash, Surya, Karthi, Arya, Siddharth, Mahesh Babu and several of the younger stars of South Indian Cinema.

Personal life

Avinash married Malavika, who was his co-star in the soap opera Mayamruga, in 2001. They have a son, Gaalav.

Awards and recognition

  1. Karnataka State Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for Mathadana
  2. Filmfare award for Best Supporting actor for Aptharakshaka
  3. Jury's special mention for Dweepa, Singarevva
  4. South Indian cinematographers association award for Best Supporting actor for Matadana
  5. Film Fans' Association award for Best Supporting Actor for Matadana, Dweepa
  6. SIFA award for Best Supporting Actor for Aptarakshaka
  7. Udaya TV award for excellence in cinema
  8. Suvarna TV award for Prithvi
  9. Aryabhata Award for Best Actor for TV series Shikari
  10. Rajyotsava Award of the Karnataka State Govt
  11. Kempegowda Award of the BBMP

    Partial filmography

YearFilmRoleLanguageNotes
198627 Mavalli CircleKannadaGuest appearance
1987MadhvacharyaKannada
1988SamyukthaKannada
1989Idu SaadhyaPolice InspectorKannada
1989TarkaCowryKannada
1989Yuddha KaandaKannada
1990AshwamedhaKannada
1992Mannina DoniKannada
1992Sangya BalyaKannada
1993Chinnari MuthaSaawanthKannada
1994NishkarshaRamakrishnaKannada
1994Lockup DeathKannada
1994KiladigaluKannada
1996HuliyaMadagiKannada
1997CBI DurgaKannada
1998Jungle BoyEnglish
1999Om Namah ShivayaKannada
1999Hrudaya HrudayaKannada
1999Nannaseya HooveKannada
1999DronaKannada
2001Vishalakshammana GandaKannada
2001MathadanaPuttathammayyaKannadaKarnataka State Film Award for Best Supporting Actor
2001KotigobbaKeshavaKannada
2002AppuKannada
2002NinagagiKannada
2002DweepaGanapaKannada
2003SingaravvaSaragam DesaiKannada
2003Chigurida KanasuShanubhogKannada
2003ManiKannada
2003Thayi Illada ThabbaliKannada
2003ThirumalaiAshokTamil
2003Raja NarasimhaKannada
2003KhushiDurga PrasadKannada
2004ApthamitraRamachandra AcharyaKannada
2004DurgiKannada
2004KalasipalyaKannada
2004Veera KannadigaKannada
2005ValmikiKannada
2005SirichandanaKannada
2005ChandramukhiRamachandra AcharyaTamil
2005AakashKannada
2005SwamyKannada
2005Deadly SomaKannada
2005SidduKannada
2005SyeKannada
2005AadiKannada
2005AmrutadhareDhyan's FatherKannada
2005NewsInspectorKannada
2005Green SignalKannada
2006ParamasivanDGP RajasekarTamil
2006ChellataKannada
2006CyanideKempaiah IPSKannada
2006KuppiTamil
2006Gandugali KumararamaKannada
2006SirivanthaMastan BhaiKannada
2006VattaramKaruppusamyTamil
2006Tananam TananamKannada
2006PoiValluvanarTamil
2007Madurai VeeranVishvanathanTamil
2007GunavanthaKannada
2008BombaatKannada
2008Manasugula Mathu Madhura
2009KabaddiKannada
2009Bellary NagaKannada
2010Police QuartersVishwannaKannada / Tamil
2010School MasterKannada
2010PorkiKannada
2010Siddhu +2Tamil
2010AptharakshakaRamachandra AcharyaKannadaFilmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Kannada
2010NagavalliRamchandra AcharyaTelugu
2010PrithviNarasimha NayakKannada
2011SiruthaiBavujiTamil
2011DoublesMalayalam
2011KarthikKannada
20117aam ArivuTamil
2011HudugaruKannada
20115ters: Castle of Dark MasterHindi
2011ParamathmaKannada
2011RajapattaiChidambaramTamil
2012ShaktiKannada
2012Anna BondKannada
2012RomeoKannada
2012DamarukamTelugu
2013Sandalwood Sa Re Ga MaKannada
2013CID EeshaKannada
2013JataayuKannada
2013VictoryKannada
2013KaddipudiACP Vijaya PrasadKannada
2013MadarangiKannada
2014VeeramAavudaiyappanTamil
2014AngaarakaKannada
2014NinnindaleKannada
2014UgrammShivarudra LingaiahKannada
2014ShivajinagaraKannada
2014KalyanamasthuKannada
2014Ragini IPSHiremathKannada
2014HuchudugaruKannada
2014MaryadeKannada
2014Veera PulikeshiKannada
2014MaanikyaKannada
2014HaraKannada
2014Jasmine.5Kannada
2014AakramanaKannada
2014PowerKannada
2015Yennai ArindhaalHemanika's fatherTamil
2015SandamaruthamTamil
2015Udhayam NH4Avinash GowdaTamil
2015Mr. AiravataKannada
2015VedalamRahul's assistantTamil
2016GethuCraig's bossTamil
2016KhananaKannada
2016Moondraam Ullaga PorSubramaniamTamil
2016Kotigobba 2Kannada
2017RogueKannada
Telugu
2017RaajakumaraNandini's fatherKannada
2018Prema BarahaRamKannada
Tamil
2018Idam Premam JeevanamKannada
2018Ambi Ning VayassaythoKannada
2018GultooInspector AvinashKannada
2018Vaasu Naan Pakka CommercialKannada
2018Victory 2Kannada
2018OrangeHuli VeeraiahKannada
2019NatasaarvabhowmaKannada
2019DasharathaKannada
2019Neeya 2Ananda SiddharTamil
2019PailwaanKannada
2019Katha SangamaKannada
2020ArishadvargaManjunath BhatKannada
2020ShivarjunaKannada
2020LawKannada
2020----

Other activities

Avinash is the founder member of Sneha Loka, a club to promote sporting activity among the film fraternity. He is also a former member of the executive committee of the Kannada Film Artists Association.