Bobby Simha


Jayasimha, known as Bobby Simha, is an Indian film actor who has mainly appeared in Tamil flims and few Telugu and Malayalam-language films. After making brief appearances in the films Kadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Yeppadi and Pizza, he portrayed a kidnapper in Nalan Kumarasamy's Soodhu Kavvum and a comic villain in Alphonse Putharen's Neram. Simha's subsequent performance as the Madurai gangster Sethu in Karthik Subbaraj's Jigarthanda won him positive reviews from critics and the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Career

Simha was born in Hyderabad, but family moved to Kodaikanal in 1995, he considers as his native place. He subsequently completed his schooling in a Telugu-Medium school, in Mopidevi, Andhra Pradesh and then attended college at Pioneer College of Arts and Science in Coimbatore. In 2005, he participated in a Coimbatore-based event called Naalaya Natchathiram, where chief guests Sundar C and E. Ramdoss suggested that he should attempt to become an actor in Tamil films. Simha stated that he received an offer to feature in a TV serial in Chennai and only after making the journey from Coimbatore, did he realise he had been conned. Simha subsequently finished his degree and came back to Chennai to pursue a career in acting but ended up working in marketing, insurance and business process outsourcing to fulfill his financial needs. He subsequently became acquainted with short-film maker Manikandan, who introduced him to his friend, another short-film maker Karthik Subbaraj. The pair subsequently made a series of short films together, with Subbaraj giving Simha a role in his directorial debut Pizza, too. Balaji Mohan, who too was short-film maker, gave Simha a small role in his first feature film, Kadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Yeppadi. Both ventures became critically acclaimed and amongst the most profitable of 2012.
Simha then appeared in Soodhu Kavvum portraying the role of Pagalavan, and played the antagonist in the bilingual Neram, his performances in both films were received well. In 2014, he was seen in the role of an ageing Madurai gangster in Jigarthanda with his portrayal winning him critical praise. In an interview he said that in order to get into the character, he had interacted with real gangsters to learn their behaviour and nuances. To tan his skin, he stood in the sun at noon wearing only his shorts. The film opened to positive reviews in August 2014, with The Hindu writing that it had achieved "cult status" within a week of its release. Simha won positive reviews for his depiction of Sethu, with Rediff.com noting that Simha "steals the show. He is chillingly menacing at times, while completely hilarious in others, but equally convincing in both", stating it is "a truly remarkable performance". A critic from Sify.com delivered a similar verdict, writing "truly the film belongs to Simhaa. He is electrifying especially in the first half, where he brings out the viciousness and violent streak of the character along with that eerie laughter." His performance in the film earned him the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. After Jigarthanda he played a lead role in the Malayalam film Beware of Dogs, while in Aadama Jaichomada he played Bhoominathan, a "serious, intelligent cop but with a comic touch". The success of Jigarthanda had created opportunities for Bobby Simha to become a lead actor, though several of his subsequent films did not perform well commercially. In December 2015, he appeared in Urumeen, his first film as a solo action hero.
In 2016, he appeared in the coming-of-age drama, Bangalore Naatkal, where he portrayed a softer role in comparison to his earlier action films. Simha had offered his own dates to the producers to portray a character in the film, with his performance receiving mixed reviews. In June 2016, he has signed to play as antagonist for Saamy Square, which is the sequel of Saamy, directed by Hari.
In 2019, Film Companion ranked Simha's performance in Jigarthanda among the 100 Greatest Performances of the decade.''

Personal life

Bobby Simha got engaged to actress Reshmi Menon on 8 November 2015 and they married on 22 April 2016. In 2 May 2017 their daughter, Mudhra Simha, was born.

Awards

;Vijay Awards
;Filmfare Awards South
;National Film Awards
;Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize
;3rd South Indian International Movie Awards
;4th South Indian International Movie Awards
;Edison Awards

Feature films

YearFilmRoleLanguageSources
2012Kadhalil Sodhappuvadhu YeppadiJayasimhaTamilCredited as Jayasimha
2012Love FailureJayasimhaTeluguCredited as Jayasimha
2012PizzaBobbyTamil
2013Naan Rajavaga PogirenShankar SubramaniamTamil
2013Soodhu KavvumPagalavanTamil
2013NeramVatti RajaMalayalam
2013NeramVatti RajaTamil
2014Beware of DogsAmirMalayalam
2014Jigarthanda'Assault' SethuTamilNational Film Award for Best Supporting Actor
2014Aadama JaichomadaInspector BhoominathanTamil
2014AaaahProsperTamil
2015Oru Vadakkan SelfieJohn Mathew BhaskarMalayalamCameo appearance
2015Chennai Ungalai Anbudan VaraverkirathuChellapandiTamil
2015Masala PadamAmudhanTamil
2015Inji IduppazhagiHimselfTamilCameo appearance
2015Size ZeroHimselfTeluguCameo appearance
2015UrumeenSelvaaTamil
2016Bangalore NaatkalKannan TamilAlso narrator
2016AviyalThe GangsterTamilActed in segment Eli
2016RunVatti RajaTelugu
2016Ko 2KumaranTamil
2016Meera JaakirathaiSivanesanTamil
2016IraiviJaganTamil
2016MetroGunaTamil
2016Kavalai VendamArjunTamil
2017MupparimanamHimselfTamilCameo appearance
2017Paambhu SattaiDakshnaTamil
2017KaruppanKathirTamil
2017Thiruttu Payale 2Inspector SelvamTamil25th film
2018RosapooActorMalayalamCameo appearance
2018Kammara SambhavamPulikeshiMalayalam
2018Saamy 2Raavana PichaiTamil
2018LadooJoseph DayanidhiMalayalamCameo appearance
2019PettaMichaelTamil
2019Agni DeviAgni Dev IPSTamil
2019Edaina JaragocchuKaliTelugu
2020Disco RajaBurma SethuTelugu
2020Seerum PuliVelupillai PrabhakaranTamilFilming
2020Vallavanukkum VallavanTamilReady for Release also producer
2021Indian 2TamilFilming

Short films