Arya (actor)

Jamshad Cethirakath (born 11 December 1980), known by his stage name Arya, is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly appears in Tamil cinema and a few Malayalam and Telugu films. Arya has won two Filmfare Awards South and two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. He was included on the 2015 edition of the Forbes India Celebrity 100, a list based on the top earning Indian celebrities.

Arya made his breakthrough portraying rogue characters in Vishnuvardhan's Arinthum Ariyamalum (2005) and Pattiyal (2006). He later won critical acclaim for playing an Aghori in Bala's Naan Kadavul (2009). He gained further commercial success with the release of the period drama Madrasapattinam (2010), the comedy film Boss Engira Bhaskaran (2010), family action film Vettai (2012) and Atlee's family film Raja Rani (2013).

In 2013, he appeared in three more Tamil films: R. Kannan's comedy film Settai, Vishnuvardhan's action thriller Arrambam and Selvaraghavan's fantasy film Irandam Ulagam. In 2021, he appeared in Pa. Ranjith's sports film Sarpatta Parambarai as a main lead, which garnered him high critical acclaim.

Arya was born in Trikaripur, Kerala on 11 December 1980. He did his schooling in SBOA Matriculation and Higher Secondary School, Chennai^{[citation needed]} and then graduated with an engineering degree from Crescent Engineering College in Vandalur, Chennai. His younger brother Sathya has also appeared in Tamil films.

Arya participated in the Vätternrundan Motala cycle race and won a medal. Arya was the prospective bridegroom on the show Enga Veetu Mapillai aired on Colors Tamil searching for a perfect bride from the 16 contestants.

On 14 February 2019, Arya announced his engagement to actress Sayyeshaa, and the two were married on 10 March 2019. The couple have a daughter who was born in July 2021.

While working as an assistant software engineer, Arya was approached by the cinematographer Jeeva to audition for his Ullam Ketkumae in 2003. The pair had lived in the same neighbourhood. Arya signed on for the project and was given the stage name by Jeeva, derived from "Yaaru ya" (who is that?). The film was delayed. Hence, Arya's first appearance was as Kutty, in Vishnuvardhan's Arinthum Ariyamalum. The film featured Arya as the adopted rogue son of a gangster . Critics reported that Arya in a supporting role "walks away with all the applause" and "has everything in him to make the big league". In an interview several years later, Arya also stated, "If people know Arya, it is because of the "Thee pidika" track", a song from the film's soundtrack, crediting and expressing gratitude to its composer Yuvan Shankar Raja. His next release, the delayed Ullam Ketkumae, portraying Arya as a college cricketer, also carried good reviews and was a successful venture at the box office. His third release in 2005, was the campus romance story, Oru Kalluriyin Kathai opposite Sonia Agarwal, took a strong opening but failed to find commercial acceptance. However, after also gaining favourable reviews for his performance, Arya was labelled as the new "pin-up" of Tamil cinema at the time and attracted offers for films.

His next, Igor's thriller Kalabha Kadhalan, where he played an engineer pursued romantically by an aggressive sister-in-law, won favourable reviews from critics but failed commercially. Arya collaborated with Vishnuvardhan again in the successful gangster flick, Pattiyal, where Bharath also played another leading role. The film, was shot across the slums of Chennai and told the story of two ruthless underworld hitmen, with Pooja and Padmapriya also playing major roles. Upon release, the film gained positive reports and the lead pair's performances were praised with a critic claiming that scenes between Arya and Bharath were "touching" while Arya's use of facial expressions and body language "fits exactly for the kind of role he plays". The film consequently became a big box office success and placed Arya as a leading actor in Tamil cinema. Arya subsequently appeared in the action film Vattaram as Burma, but the film's release coincided with bigger budgeted releases and the film was crowded out from box office success, despite gaining favourable reviews. In 2007, Arya played a guest appearance in Cheran's Maya Kannadi as himself before his long-delayed Oram Po, previously known as Auto, released in late 2007. Prior to release the film gained cult status for its innovative trailer, with Arya playing a Chennai-based auto driver who competes in races at nights, while Pooja was his pair again. The film directed by duo Pushkar-Gayathri opened to very positive reviews, with most critics claiming that the film was a "riot" and "entertaining", praising characterisations. Critics from the Hindu labelled Arya as "terrific as the cocky yet lovable Chandru" saying that his "good physique should cement his 'heartthrob' status".