Arun Vijay (born 19 November 1977), formerly known as Arun Kumar, is an Indian actor who works primarily in
Tamil cinema
Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywood' ...
. He also starred in a few films in
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
,
Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
and
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
.
Born as Arun Kumar and being the only son of veteran actor
Vijayakumar, he debuted in
Sundar C
Vinayagar Sundar Vel (born 21 January 1966), known professionally as Sundar C., is an Indian film director, actor and producer. He has directed over 34 films in Tamil and acted in 17 movies as the protagonist.
His notable films include ''Ull ...
's ''
Murai Mappillai
''Murai Mappillai'' is a 1995 Indian Tamil-language comedy film directed by Sundar C. The film stars newcomers Arun Vijay (known at the time as Arunkumar) and Kirthika, with Rajashree, Manivannan, K. Prabakaran, Goundamani and Senthil playing ...
'' (1995).
He received early success in ''
Thulli Thirintha Kaalam
''Thulli Thirintha Kaalam'' is a 1998 Tamil drama film directed by Balasekaran and produced by K. Balachander. The film stars Arun Vijay (known at the time as Arunkumar) and Khushbu, while Roshini, Raghuvaran, and Karan play supporting roles. ...
'' (1998) and ''
Pandavar Bhoomi
''Paandavar Bhoomi'' () is a 2001 Indian Tamil-language family drama film, written and directed by Cheran. The film has Arun Vijay (credited as Arun Kumar) Shamitha and Rajkiran playing the lead roles. While Vinu Chakravarthy and Mukesh Tiwari ...
'' (2001).
After a string of failures, he changed his name to Arun Vijay and achieved breakthrough success and recognition for playing lead roles in ''
Malai Malai
''Malai Malai'' is a 2009 Indian Tamil-language masala film written and directed by A. Venkatesh. The film stars Arun Vijay, Vedhika, Prabhu, Prakash Raj and Kasthuri in lead roles. while, Santhanam, Ganja Karuppu, Vijayakumar and S. N. Laksh ...
'' (2009), ''
Maanja Velu
''Maanja Velu'' is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language masala film directed by A. Venkatesh. It stars Arun, Karthik, Prabhu and Dhansika, with Vijayakumar and Riyaz Khan playing supporting roles and Santhanam and Ganja Karuppu providing comical rel ...
'' (2010), ''
Thadaiyara Thaakka
''Thadaiyara Thaakka'' () is a 2012 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by Magizh Thirumeni, starring Arun Vijay, Mamta Mohandas and Rakul Preet Singh. The title is derived from a devotional song titled ''Kanda Sh ...
'' (2012), ''
Kuttram 23
''Kuttram 23'' () is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by Arivazhagan. Themed on medical crimes, the film stars Arun Vijay and Mahima Nambiar, with Vamsi Krishna, Aravind Akash, Amit Bhargav, Abhinaya, ...
'' (2017), ''
Chekka Chivantha Vaanam
''Chekka Chivantha Vaanam'' () is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language crime drama film directed by Mani Ratnam, co-written with Siva Ananth. Produced by Mani Ratnam under the banner Madras Talkies, along with Lyca Productions, the film features an en ...
'' (2018), ''
Thadam'' (2019), ''
Mafia: Chapter 1'' (2020) and ''
Yaanai
''Yaanai'' () is a 2022 Indian Tamil-language action drama film written and directed by Hari and produced by Vedikkaranpatti S. Sakthivel, under the banner of Drumsticks Productions. The film stars Arun Vijay and Priya Bhavani Shankar while
R ...
'' (2022). He is noted for his villanous roles in ''
Yennai Arindhaal
''Yennai Arindhaal'' () is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film co-written and directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon, and produced by A. M. Rathnam. The film stars Ajith Kumar,
Trisha Krishnan, Anushka Shetty and Arun Vijay and revol ...
'' (2015), ''
Bruce Lee: The Fighter'' (2015) and ''
Chakravyuha'' (2016).
He is a recipient of many awards, including a
Norway Tamil Film Festival Award, two
Filmfare South Awards, a
Edison Award
The Edison Award is an annual Dutch music prize awarded for outstanding achievements in the music industry. It is comparable to the American Grammy Award. The Edison award itself is a bronze replica of a statuette of Thomas Edison, designed by ...
and three
SIIMA Awards.
Early life
Arun Vijay was born as the only son to actor
Vijayakumar and his first wife Muthukannu. He studied at
Don Bosco Maticulation Higher Secondary School,
Egmore
Egmore is a neighbourhood of Chennai, India. Situated on the northern banks of the Coovum River, Egmore is an important residential area as well as a commercial and transportation hub. The Egmore Railway Station was the main terminus of the Madr ...
. After completing his schooling, he joined
Loyola college for his higher studies.
His two elder sisters Kavitha and Anitha, who had debuted in the 1995
Tamil film
Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywood' ...
, ''
Coolie
A coolie (also spelled koelie, kuli, khuli, khulie, cooli, cooly, or quli) is a term for a low-wage labourer, typically of South Asian or East Asian descent.
The word ''coolie'' was first popularized in the 16th century by European traders acros ...
'',
Career
1995-2001
Vijay had a desire to act since childhood. He developed a strong interest by watching his father during film shoots. Vijay started getting film offers when he was in tenth grade but his father wanted him to complete his schooling before acting in films.
Vijay signed on for an
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...
musical ''Love Story'' to be his acting debut, but the delay of that project meant that he accepted Anbalaya Films' offer of
Sundar C
Vinayagar Sundar Vel (born 21 January 1966), known professionally as Sundar C., is an Indian film director, actor and producer. He has directed over 34 films in Tamil and acted in 17 movies as the protagonist.
His notable films include ''Ull ...
's ''
Murai Mappillai
''Murai Mappillai'' is a 1995 Indian Tamil-language comedy film directed by Sundar C. The film stars newcomers Arun Vijay (known at the time as Arunkumar) and Kirthika, with Rajashree, Manivannan, K. Prabakaran, Goundamani and Senthil playing ...
'' (1995).
He was 18 years old when he signed to act in ''Murai Mapillai''. This made him one of the youngest actors to debut as a hero in the Tamil film industry. ''Murai Mapillai'' had a star cast which included
Manivannan
S. Manivannan Rajagopal (31 July 1953 – 15 June 2013), better known by his mononym Manivannan, was an Indian film director, actor and activist who worked mainly in Tamil cinema and also worked in a few Telugu & Malayalam films. In a care ...
,
K. Prabakaran,
Kalaranjini
Kalaranjini is an Indian actress and classical dancer who started her career in the early 1980s.
Personal life
Kalaranjini was born to theatre artists Chavara V. P. Nair and Vijayalakshmi. She is divorced and has a son, Prince.
Partial film ...
,
Goundamani
Subramaniyan Karuppaiya (born 25 May 1939), known by his stage name Goundamani, is an Indian actor and comedian who works in Tamil cinema. He is known for his comic duo partnership in Tamil films with fellow actor Senthil. The pair dominated t ...
and
Senthil
Senthil (born 23 March 1951) is an Indian comedy actor who works in Tamil cinema. He is famous for his comedian roles along with fellow actor Goundamani. The pair dominated the Tamil industry as comedians in the 1980s and 90s.[Priyam
''Priyam'' is a 2000 Indian Malayalam-language comedy film directed by Sanal and starring Kunchacko Boban, Arun, Ashwin, Manjima Mohan and Deepa Nair in the lead roles.
Plot
Benny, an orphan, takes care of his sister's three children. Benny's b ...]
'', was released. Vijay then signed for two films ''
Kathirunda Kadhal
''Kathirunda Kadhal'' is a 1997 Indian Tamil-language film directed by Vijayeswaran and produced by Ganga Gowri Productions. The film featured Arun Kumar alongside Suvalakshmi, while Dimple plays a supporting roles. The film, which had music co ...
'' and ''
Ganga Gowri'' under Ganga Gowri Productions. Both were released in 1997. ''Kathirunda Kadhal'' was Arun's first film with
Suvalakshmi
Suvaluxmi (born 19 August 1977) is a former Indian actress who predominantly appeared in Tamil films. She also appeared in Bengali, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada films.
Career
As a child, Suvaluxmi was passionate about Indian classical and folk d ...
.
In 1998, Vijay played the lead role in director
Balasekaran
Balasekaran is an Indian film director and writer of Tamil and Telugu-language films. He is known for his work '' Love Today'', starring Vijay. He was once an assistant to K. Balachander.
He also worked in Tamil serials as writer in ''Nandin ...
's film ''
Thulli Thirintha Kaalam
''Thulli Thirintha Kaalam'' is a 1998 Tamil drama film directed by Balasekaran and produced by K. Balachander. The film stars Arun Vijay (known at the time as Arunkumar) and Khushbu, while Roshini, Raghuvaran, and Karan play supporting roles. ...
''. It was produced by
Kavithalayaa Productions
Kavithalayaa Productions is an Indian film production and distribution company based in Chennai. It was founded by filmmaker K. Balachander in 1981. It has a library of 50+ films in three languages and 3500+ hours of television content. Kavitha ...
, a company owned by
K.Balachander. The film was a commercial success and was later remade in Telugu with a different cast.
In 2000, Vijay featured in two films, ''
Kannaal Pesavaa'' and ''
Anbudan''. Kannal Pesavaa was released in August 2000 and was his second film with actors
Suvalakshmi
Suvaluxmi (born 19 August 1977) is a former Indian actress who predominantly appeared in Tamil films. She also appeared in Bengali, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada films.
Career
As a child, Suvaluxmi was passionate about Indian classical and folk d ...
,
Goundamani
Subramaniyan Karuppaiya (born 25 May 1939), known by his stage name Goundamani, is an Indian actor and comedian who works in Tamil cinema. He is known for his comic duo partnership in Tamil films with fellow actor Senthil. The pair dominated t ...
and
Senthil
Senthil (born 23 March 1951) is an Indian comedy actor who works in Tamil cinema. He is famous for his comedian roles along with fellow actor Goundamani. The pair dominated the Tamil industry as comedians in the 1980s and 90s.[Meena
Meena () is a sub-group of Bhils. They speak Meena language. They started adopting the Brahmin worship system. Its name is also transliterated as ''Meenanda'' or ''Mina''. Historians claim that they belong to the Matsya tribe. They got the sta ...]
and
Rambha. His career hit a nadir when ''Buddhan'', a project which he had physically transformed for, was stalled and dropped in 2000.
In 2001, he played a civil engineer in ''
Pandavar Bhoomi
''Paandavar Bhoomi'' () is a 2001 Indian Tamil-language family drama film, written and directed by Cheran. The film has Arun Vijay (credited as Arun Kumar) Shamitha and Rajkiran playing the lead roles. While Vinu Chakravarthy and Mukesh Tiwari ...
'', directed by
Cheran. This was the first movie in which Vijay and his father
Vijayakumar acted together. This movie won the
Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film
The Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film is given by the Government of Tamil Nadu as part of its annual Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for Tamil (Kollywood) films. It includes prizes for three top places.
Key
List of winners
Reference ...
(Second Prize) in 2001.
2002-2012
Vijay's next film was ''
Mutham
''Mutham'' ( Kiss) is a 2002 Indian Tamil-language slasher film directed by S. A. Chandrasekhar. The film stars Arun Vijay (known at the time as Arunkumar), Sathyan, Nagendra Prasad, Ajayan, Charulatha, Nanditha Jennifer and Anjali. The film, ...
'' (2002). It was initially titled ''Muthamidalamma'', but was changed after the censor screening. It was directed by
S.A. Chandrasekhar and was the first film to be shot using digital cinematography in Tamil cinema. Vijay had a special appearance in ''
Iyarkai
''Iyarkai'' (, ) is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film that was written and directed by S. P. Jananathan in his directorial debut. The film stars Shaam and Radhika. Arun Vijay—who at the time was known as Arun Kumar—and Bollywo ...
'' (2003), which won the
National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil
The Indian Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of several awa ...
.
He acted in director
Ramesh Selvan
Ramesh Selvan is an Indian film director, who has made Tamil films.
Career
Ramesh Selvan made his debut as a film maker with the action film ''Ulavuthurai'' (1998) starring Vijayakanth in lead role before making the revenge drama ''Jananam'' ( ...
's ''
Jananam
''Jananam'' () is a 2004 Tamil language action drama film directed by Ramesh Selvan. The film stars Arun Vijay and Priyanka Trivedi in lead roles, while Ashish Vidyarthi, Raghuvaran, Charle, Vadivelu and Nassar play supporting roles. The mu ...
'' (2004). The film's actress
Priyanka Trivedi
Priyanka Upendra (née Trivedi) is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Kannada Language films.
Early life
Priyanka was born in Calcutta (now Kolkata). Her mother is from West Bengal and father from Uttar Pradesh. She spent ten yea ...
could not fulfill her scheduled commitments in the film, as she got married in 2003. The film failed to make a mark, as the screenplay was not good and the story was incomplete. Critics appreciated Arun Vijay's acting in the movie. In 2006, he has given a matured performance in ''
Azhagai Irukkirai Bayamai Irukkirathu
''Azhagai Irukkirai Bayamai Irukkirathu'' () also known by the initialism ''AIBI'', is a 2006 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by cinematographer-turned-director S.D. Vijay Milton. It stars Bharath and Mallika Ka ...
''. His next projects was ''
Thavam
''Thavam'' () is a 2007 Tamil-language romantic drama film directed by Sakthi Paramesh, written by Puri Jagannadh, and produced by Arjun Sarja, who also has a cameo appearance in the film. A remake of the Telugu film ''Itlu Sravani Subramanya ...
'' (2007) and ''
Vedha
''Vedha'' is a 2008 Indian Tamil language action drama film, directed by R. Nithyakumar starring Arun Vijay and Sheela. The music is composed by Srikanth Deva. The film opened to negative reviews.
Plot
Vijay (Arun Vijay) is crazy about his ...
'' (2008). ''Thavam'' was the first film to credit Arun Kumar under his new name Arun Vijay.
The first venture, ''
Malai Malai
''Malai Malai'' is a 2009 Indian Tamil-language masala film written and directed by A. Venkatesh. The film stars Arun Vijay, Vedhika, Prabhu, Prakash Raj and Kasthuri in lead roles. while, Santhanam, Ganja Karuppu, Vijayakumar and S. N. Laksh ...
'' (2009), directed by
A. Venkatesh, became a commercial success. The next, ''
Maanja Velu
''Maanja Velu'' is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language masala film directed by A. Venkatesh. It stars Arun, Karthik, Prabhu and Dhansika, with Vijayakumar and Riyaz Khan playing supporting roles and Santhanam and Ganja Karuppu providing comical rel ...
'' (2010), by the same team, was also a success. Arun Vijay appeared in Magizh Thirumeni's action-thriller ''
Thadaiyara Thaakka
''Thadaiyara Thaakka'' () is a 2012 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by Magizh Thirumeni, starring Arun Vijay, Mamta Mohandas and Rakul Preet Singh. The title is derived from a devotional song titled ''Kanda Sh ...
'' (2012), marking a move away from his previous two
Masala films.
2015-present
He starred in ''
Yennai Arindhaal
''Yennai Arindhaal'' () is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film co-written and directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon, and produced by A. M. Rathnam. The film stars Ajith Kumar,
Trisha Krishnan, Anushka Shetty and Arun Vijay and revol ...
'' (2015) with actor
Ajith Kumar
Ajith Kumar (born 1 May 1971) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil films. To date, he has starred in over 60 films. His awards include four Vijay Awards, three Cinema Express Awards, three Filmfare Awards South and three Tamil N ...
. This was his first film with director
Gautham Vasudev Menon
Gautham Vasudev Menon (born 25 February 1973) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema, Tamil film industry. He has also directed Telugu cinema, Telugu and Hindi cinema, Hindi films th ...
. Vijay played the role of Victor, an antagonist.
On September 1, 2015, Vijay launched his own production company called In Cinemas Entertainment (ICE). He said that he launched the company to identify and provide an opportunity to ambitious and talented youngsters.
The same year, he debuted in Telugu in the film ''
Bruce Lee - The Fighter
''Bruce Lee: The Fighter'' is a 2015 Indian Telugu-language action comedy film directed by Sreenu Vaitla who co-wrote the film with Kona Venkat and Gopimohan. Produced by D. V. V. Danayya under the banner DVV Entertainments, the film stars Ram ...
'' (2015) as the lead antagonist. He also made his
Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
debut as the lead antagonist in the movie ''
Chakravyuha'' in 2016. His next, ''
Kuttram 23
''Kuttram 23'' () is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by Arivazhagan. Themed on medical crimes, the film stars Arun Vijay and Mahima Nambiar, with Vamsi Krishna, Aravind Akash, Amit Bhargav, Abhinaya, ...
'' (2017), returning to lead roles, was a success at the box office. His next movie was ''
Chekka Chivantha Vaanam
''Chekka Chivantha Vaanam'' () is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language crime drama film directed by Mani Ratnam, co-written with Siva Ananth. Produced by Mani Ratnam under the banner Madras Talkies, along with Lyca Productions, the film features an en ...
'' (2018), which was directed by
Mani Ratnam
Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and few Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. Ratnam has won six Nat ...
with an
ensemble cast
In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17
Structure
In contrast to ...
.
In 2019, Vijay acted in ''
Thadam'', an action crime thriller. He played his first double role in this film. This was also the second film in which he and Magizh Thirumeni worked together, after ''Thadaiyara Thaakka''. The film was loosely based on various real-life crimes where the suspects are
identical twin
Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...
s. ''Thadam''s biggest strength was Vijay's convincing performance as Kavin and Ezhil. In the action thriller film ''
Saaho
''Saaho'' () is a 2019 Indian action thriller film written and directed by Sujeeth and produced by UV Creations. It stars Prabhas in the title role with an ensemble cast including Shraddha Kapoor, Chunky Pandey, Jackie Shroff, Arun Vijay, Neil ...
'',
Prabhas
Uppalapati Venkata Suryanarayana Prabhas Raju (born 23 October 1979), known mononymously as Prabhas (), is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Telugu cinema. One of the highest-paid actors in Indian cinema, Prabhas has featured in ''Fo ...
was the hero while Vijay played a supporting role. In 2020, he appeared in action crime thriller ''
Mafia: Chapter 1'' that was directed by
Karthick Naren
Karthick Naren (born 23 July 1994) is an Indian filmmaker who works in Tamil cinema. Naren broke into the Tamil cinema, Tamil film industry having had directed several award-winning short films like ''Pradhi'' and ''Nirangal Moondru'' before his ...
. In the film, Arun Vijay played a narcotics police officer on a mission to hunt down a drug mafia kingpin.
In 2022, he appeared in the
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...
film ''
Oh My Dog.
'' The cast included Vijay, his father
Vijayakumar, and his son Arnav Vijay. The next was ''
Yaanai
''Yaanai'' () is a 2022 Indian Tamil-language action drama film written and directed by Hari and produced by Vedikkaranpatti S. Sakthivel, under the banner of Drumsticks Productions. The film stars Arun Vijay and Priya Bhavani Shankar while
R ...
'' an action drama film written and directed by
Hari
Hari ( sa, हरि) is among the primary epithets of the Hindu preserver deity Vishnu, meaning 'the one who takes away' (sins). It refers to the one who removes darkness and illusion, the one who removes all obstacles to spiritual progress ...
.
The next was released a Web Series ''
Tamil Rockerz''. and later ''
Sinam'' directed by
G. N. R. Kumaravelan, it is made as an investigative whodunit thriller in which Arun Vijay plays a cop. Arun Vijay delivers a stunning performance once again. The role of an angry cop is tailor-made for an actor with his physique and attitude.
Personal life
In 2006, Vijay married Aarathi, daughter of film producer Dr. N. S. Mohan with whom he has a daughter, Purvi and a son, Arnav Vijay. In 2010, Arun Vijay's eldest sister Kavitha's daughter Hasini married N. S. Mohan's son Hemanth, who is a co-producer of Feather Touch Entertainments and also acted alongside Arun Vijay in ''
Malai Malai
''Malai Malai'' is a 2009 Indian Tamil-language masala film written and directed by A. Venkatesh. The film stars Arun Vijay, Vedhika, Prabhu, Prakash Raj and Kasthuri in lead roles. while, Santhanam, Ganja Karuppu, Vijayakumar and S. N. Laksh ...
''.
Filmography
Films
*''Note: He was credited as Arunkumar (sometimes Arun) from 1995 to 2006. He was credited as Arun Vijay from 2007 onwards''.
''All films are in Tamil, unless otherwise noted''.
Web Series
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vijay, Arun
Indian male film actors
Tamil male actors
Living people
Male actors in Tamil cinema
1977 births
Male actors in Telugu cinema
Male actors in Kannada cinema