Mazhai, a remake of the Telugu film Varsham, was his other release that year, which was "lukewarm" at the box office. Sify's reviewer described his performance as "impressive", calling Ravi a "hundred percent convincing as an action hero". The film took an even bigger opening than his previous ones. His next release, Daas (2005), another action-masala flick, and his first original film following two remakes, featured him as a football player. The film, considered a family entertainer, received the Tamil Nadu State Film Special Award for Best Film and fetched Ravi himself the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor. Of Ravi's performance, a critic from Sify wrote that he "makes you want to see more of him", while The Hindu 's Malathi Rangarajan noted that he came out with an "appreciable portrayal throughout". Kumaran Son Of Mahalakshmi (2004), the remade version of the Telugu film Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi, in which he starred alongside Asin Thottumkal. His next venture was the sentimental drama M. It was a remake of the 2002 Telugu film of the same name. Jayam Ravi made his acting debut in the action- masala film Jayam, produced by his father and directed by his brother Mohan Raja. Ravi acted as a child actor in two Telugu films: Bava Bavamaridi and Palnati Pourusham, which were produced by his father. His mother is Telugu who hails from Andhra Pradesh. Before debuting as an actor, Ravi had been an assistant director to Suresh Krishna for Aalavandhan (2001), starring Kamal Haasan. He also trained in acting at the Kishore Namit Kapur Institute in Mumbai. After completing his degree in Visual Communication from Loyola College, Chennai, he decided to get into the film industry. He studied dancing under the Bharatnatyam dancer Nalini Balakrishnan and performed his arangetram at the age of 12. He completed his schooling at Jawahar Vidyalaya in Ashok Nagar, Chennai. Ravi grew up in both Chennai and Hyderabad. his elder brother Mohan Raja is a film director, with most of his films featuring Ravi in the lead role, while his sister Roja is a dentist. Jayam Ravi was born as Mohan Ravi in Tirumangalam, Madurai.