Quick Info→
Hometown: Chennai, India Height: 5’ 8” Marital Status: Unmarried
Some Lesser Known Facts About Mime Gopi
- Mime Gopi is an Indian film and mimi actor. He is well know for his performance in Tamil and Telugu film industry. Some of his most popular films include Madras, Maari, Kabali, Maragadha Naanayam, Maragadha Naanayam, Cocktail, and Pushpa: The Rise.
- Gopi was declined towards acting and drama since childhood. He used to participate in various cultural events and drama competitions during his school days. Apart from acting, he was also fond of playing sports.
- While pursuing his graduation, he started investing his time in learning mime acting and later began performing in various theater shows. Mime is a technique of acting done with just body motions without the use of speech to express any story. His first biggest exposure was when he performed at the University celebration in front of the 3000 audience and the chief guest of the celebration was the former minister Mr.Anbazhagan. He received a great response from the audience as well as earned the the “Best Student Award” at Loyola College by their college principal. Receiving so that much amount of appreciation boosted his moral spirit to work further on his skills and later on he went on to perform at more than 10,000 stages worldwide.
- Mime Gopi got the opportunity to work in a commercial film after Prasanna, after seeing his performance during a theater drama, offered him to work in ‘Kannum Kannum.’ Although, Mime had a great experience in acting on stage, it was a very different atmosphere for him to work in. He even decided to leave the film but with the help of the whole cast and crew he agreed to act in the film and marked his debut with G. Marimuthu directed Tamil language film ‘Kannum Kannum.’ He portrayed the role of Shiva, opposite Prasanna, Udhayathara, Vadivelu, Santhanam, and Vijayakumar. Originally, the film was released on 21 March 2008 but, it was also premiered on Kalaignar TV as part of their Gandhi Jayanthi Special Programmes on 2 October 2008.
- After the success of his first film, he did a supporting role in A. B. Azhagar directed drama film ‘Aadatha Aattamellam.’ Next, in 2010, he appeared on the silver screen in a supporting role in ‘Drohi,’ a film written and directed by Sudha Kongara Prasad. The lead character of the film includes Srikanth, Vishnu, Poorna, Poonam Bajwa, and Thiagarajan. Following this, he became part of various commercially successful film like Uyarthiru 420, Inam, and Vaayai Moodi Pesavum.
- Mime Gopi rose to fame after acting in Pa. Ranjith written and directed Tamil-language political action drama film ‘Madras.’ He played the role of Perumal opposite Karthi, Catherine Tresa, Kalaiyarasan, Charles Vinoth, Riythvika, V. I. S. Jayapalan, and Poster Nandakumar. The film was released theatrically on 26 September 2014 and it showcased the story of Kaali (Karthi) and his friend Anbu (Kalaiyarasan), a political aspirant, who get embroiled in a brutal political rivalry, between two factions of a political party, after laying claim to a wall. His performance in the film brought him huge limelight and earned critical acclaims.
- In 2015, he played the role of Ravi, a local gangster who wants to get rid of Maari with Arjun, in the film ‘Maari.’ The Balaji Mohan directed action comedy film received mixed reviews from the audience. Following this he acted in films like Papparapaam, Maya, Unakkenna Venum Sollu, Dummy Tappasu, and Gethu.
- In 2016, he made his onscreen appearance as Kandhan in Udhayanidhi Stalin produced action thriller film ‘Gethu.’ The film tells a story about a hitman who comes to stay in a hilly town with the ambition of murdering a top scientist, but a young village man and his righteous father stand in his way to demolish his goal. Following this, he became part of another Tamil-language action thriller film ‘Kathakali.’ He shared the screen with Vishal and Catherine Tresa, playing the character of Gnanavel Rajarathinam.
- With every passing role, Mime Gopi brushed up his acting skills and became one of the top choices of Tamil film directors to work with. In 2016, he acted in the film ‘Kabali’ and gained huge popularity with his character. His performance left everyone amazed for which he also received huge critical acclaims. The played the role of a villain opposite actor Rajinikanth, and Radhika Apte, Winston Chao, Sai Dhanshika, Kishore, Dinesh, Kalaiyarasan, John Vijay, and Mime Gopi in supporting roles. His character in the film was named as Loganathan.
- Although Gopi is one of the finest actors of Tamil and Telugu film industry, but it was never an easy journey for him. In 2009, he was offered hs first film as in a supporting role. After shooting form a few days, he felt it extremely different from his previous experience and decided to quit the film. But it was the director of the film who convinced and motivated him to follow the right path. During a media interaction, he narrated his experience as,
It was difficult in the beginning as mime was not an easy concept for the audience to grasp. Many think mime is a silent medium but I consider it a precursor to theatre.”
- In 2021, he worked one of the biggest hits of the year ‘Pushpa: The Rise.’ He portrayed the role of Chennai Murugan in the Telugu-language action drama film ‘Pushpa: The Rise,’ written and directed by Sukumar. The plot of the film revolves around Pushpa Raj, a coolie, who was born and raised in the world of red sandalwood smuggling.
- After establishing himself in the acting industry, Mime established ‘G-Studio,’ a mime school or institution that has been involved in training actors for better performance. Acting and theatre courses are also conducted. It focuses on training college students, especially those of Loyola and Ethiraj, for being able to work for variety entertainment. He started the studio with his own experience and leanings, and taught many local as well as international students from abroad. He has trained many actors and actresses for delivering a high quality performances in the film.
- G-Studio also conducts mime shows for creating awareness regarding various social causes, as well as to create awareness on any issue of public health. The studio organises motivation programmes, street plays for awareness programmes in association with the local Government, with pantomime shows and sound and lights shows. During an interview, when asked about his contribution for the fund raising events organised by the studio, Mime Gopi said,
We also do shows to raise funds for education of poor students. Deserving candidates are supported by us throughout their education,” From the moment we are born we are entertained by the gimmicky hand movements of those around us. When we are unable to communicate verbally, it’s our instinct to mime.”
- The actor is a very active socialist. He is associated with a number of non profit organisations. As a fun raising event, he took 20 specially aided children from Chennai to Coimbatore through flight. The children were made to stay in a five star hotel and also taken to all tourist spots in and around Coimbatore. He worked on ensuring to fulfill the life time dream of these children to travel by air. They were provided with costly outfits and were taken to airport in a Jaguar Car.
- The mimi actor has been acting in the films for more than 20 years and owns a great experience in working with a variety of director. During an interview, when he was asked about the difference he feels in working with the young directors of newer generations as compared to his experience in his initial days, he said,
Today, every young director wants to try something new. The manner in which they approach a script, write the characters and work with artistes… it’s all different. Most importantly, they have a lot of clarity. They have a fire within them and they want to bring about a change in cinema. I like the way some directors extract work from me. They appreciate us, and at the same time, encourage us to give our best shot. This way, the job is done well. So, I am really happy working with youngsters.”
- His most favourite teachers during his school timer were his Tamil teacher Veeraiya and Nagamuthu, because they were a great source of motivation for him.
- Mime Gopi was honoured with a doctoral award by Shree Rudraksha Arts and Dance University for his contribution to Mime Arts.
Mime Gopi honoured with doctoral award by Shree Rudraksha Arts and Dance University
- He had great interest in sports as well. His favourite sports since childhood was basketball.