Bava Chelladurai (பாவா செல்லதுரை) is an Indian Tamil writer, storyteller, actor, literary activist, organic farmer, and advocate born on 22 April 1962 in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, into a Dalit Christian family. He attended Danish Mission Higher Secondary School, Tiruvannamalai, earned a B.Com degree, and also holds a law degree. He worked as a junior officer at the Tamil Nadu Power Board before taking voluntary retirement to devote himself fully to literature, activism, and farming. He is married to K. V. Shylaja, who co-founded Vamsi Books (a publishing house that has released 400+ titles); they have a son, Vamsi Bava Chelladurai, and a daughter, Manasi Bava Chelladurai (their other son, CB, passed away in an accident). He is an atheist and a declared Marxist. He is widely regarded as one of Tamil Nadu's most distinctive short story writers, known for a meditative narrative style he calls 'story mantras.' His works have been translated into English, Hindi, Malayalam, French, Spanish, and German. He co-founded Vamsi Books and the Progressive Writers' Association, and is a prominent anti-caste Dalit rights activist. As a storyteller, his public performances in Tiruvannamalai grew from 60 listeners to 500, and his YouTube channel (35,000+ subscribers) documents his storytelling. He made his film debut in Joker (2016) and subsequently earned wide acclaim for supporting roles in Seethakaathi (2018), Peranbu (2019), Psycho (2020), Walter (2020), Navarasa (2021), Jai Bhim (2021, as politician Natraja), and Sennai (2021). He won the Best Actor Award at the Golden Sparrow International Film Festival in 2021 and the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Story Writer for Joker (2016). In October 2023, he entered Bigg Boss Tamil Season 7 as one of the original contestants. He walked out voluntarily in Week 2 after feeling isolated and cornered by the house dynamics, finishing twenty-third and last overall.
Tamil short story collections including Ruins of the Night (2011) and Ella Nalum Karthigai (2018); acting in Tamil films Jai Bhim (2021, as Natraja), Peranbu (2019), Psycho (2020), and Walter (2020); founding the Progressive Writers' Association and co-founding Vamsi Books (400+ titles); voluntarily walking out of Bigg Boss Tamil Season 7 in Week 2 (2024).
