Ajay Kumar, popularly called by the names Guinness Pakru and Undapakru, was born in Kottayam, Kerala, on August 31, 1976. Kumar completed his undergraduate degree in Economics and obtained a diploma in Computer Science, but started off his career as a mimicry artist. With over 1000 performances, he was an extremely prolific mimicry artist, until the age of 18. One of his most noticeable characteristics is his short height due to dwarfism, which has been a major part of this actor’s struggle for recognition.

Kumar made his film debut with K.G. Vijaya Kumar’s Malayalam-language children’s film, Ambili Ammavan (The Moon, 1986). Following this, he went on to act in a number of Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu films, and made appearances on numerous television shows. In 2005, Kumar starred in Vinayan’s Malayalam film Athbhutha Dweepu (Wonder Island, 2005), which tells the story of an island where all the men are dwarves and the women are of regular height. Two years later, in 2008, Kumar was recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records as the shortest actor to play a lead character in a full-length movie. Incidentally, the remake rights of Athbhuta Dweepu (2005) were sold to Hollywood director Ron Howard soon after its release. Kumar was approached to reprise his role, though not as the protagonist, but as one of the dwarves on the island.

Later, Kumar turned to film direction with his first feature, a comedy starring himself, called Kutteem Kolum (2013). This move saw him being recognized yet again by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s shortest director to direct a full-length film. Kumar is 2 feet and 6 inches tall. He also won the Kerala State Film Awards and the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for Athbhutha Dweepu (2005), and Dishyum (2006), respectively.

Kumar allegedly became dwarfed due to medical negligence, and as a consequence, faced several difficulties while filming, often due to a lack of adequate provisions. He formed the Small Men’s Association of Kerala to support and provide better opportunities to the dwarves in his home state, numbering at over 11,000. Kumar has often spoken about overcoming the restrictions of his physical condition. "There's no point complaining about being a dwarf. I am small in size but I have got the talent and can work like a normal man." Kumar has never let his short stature be the sole marker of his identity, and has shown his excellence as a filmmaker.