Teejay Arunasalam is a British playback singer and actor who has worked in Tamil language films. After making his acting debut in the Tamil film '' Asuran'' (2019), he has been in films including ''

Thatrom Thookrom ''Thatrom Thookrom'' () is a 2020 Indian Tamil-language action drama film written and directed by Arul S. The film stars Teejay Arunasalam, Cheenu Mohan and Kaali Venkat while Sampath Ram portrays a negative role. Balamurali Balu composed music ...

'' (2020) and the anthology web series ''

Putham Pudhu Kaalai Vidiyaadhaa ''Putham Pudhu Kaalai Vidiyaadhaa'' () is a 2022 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language anthology series, consisting of five episodes directed by Balaji Mohan, Halitha Shameem, Madhumitha (director), Madhumitha, Surya Krishna and Richard Anthony ...

'' (2022).

Career

Born in the area of

Northolt Northolt is a town in West London, England, spread across both sides of the A40 trunk road. It is west-northwest of Charing Cross and is one of the seven major towns that make up the London Borough of Ealing. It had a population of 30,304 at ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

to Sri Lankan Tamil immigrants, Teejay became interested in music through Carnatic classes and his pursuit of a GCSE qualification in music technology. He rose to fame in the European Tamil diaspora through his work as a singer on independent Tamil music albums in the early 2010s. He worked on albums with US-based singer

Pragathi Guruprasad Pragathi Guruprasad is a Singaporean-American playback singer who has worked in Tamil language films. Brought up in Fremont, California, she finished as a runner-up in the third season of the reality-based singing competition ''Airtel Super ...

, and other UK-based singers such as Inno Genga and Arjun. He went on to pursue a degree in airport and airline management at university, before switching to study music. Teejay announced that he would make his acting debut in the Tamil film industry through ''Amsana'', a low-budget romantic drama, made by a cast and crew of debutants during August 2016. The film was later stalled but Teejay stayed in Chennai to try and pursue his career as a playback singer. He was then cast in the lead role of ''

'' (2020) during December 2017 by debutant director Arul. The film's production was delayed and it subsequently had a limited release in late 2020, as Teejay's second release. Teejay won critical acclaim for his role as Velmurugan in

Vetrimaaran Vetrimaaran is an Indian film director, screenwriter and film producer, who works in the Tamil film industry. As of 2021, he has won five National Film Awards, eight Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards, two Filmfare South Awards and the Amnesty Inter ...

's '' Asuran'' (2019), appearing as the son of the characters portrayed by

Dhanush Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja (born 28 July 1983), known professionally as Dhanush, is an Indian actor, producer, director, lyricist and playback singer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Starring in 46 films over his career, among hi ...

and

Manju Warrier Manju Warrier (; born 10 September 1978) is an Indian actress, producer, classical dancer and playback singer who primarily appears in Malayalam language films. She is the recipient of several awards including one National Film Award, one Kera ...

. He was cast in the film after being referred to Vetrimaaran by his friend, actress

Andrea Jeremiah Andrea Maria Jeremiah is an Indian actress, playback singer, and a musician, who works predominantly in Tamil language, Tamil and Malayalam language films. She made her acting debut in Tamil language, Tamil film ''Pachaikili Muthucharam'' (2007 ...

. Teejay won positive reviews for his depiction. He later appeared in

Balaji Mohan Balaji Mohan (born 25 May 1987) is an Indian filmmaker and actor in Tamil-language films. After discontinuing his engineering studies to pursue his passion and become a director, he enrolled at a film academy and attended courses and workshops, ...

's short film in the anthology series ''

'' by

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...

. As of 2022, Teejay is working on '' Pathu Thala'' (2022), where he appears in a supporting role in an ensemble cast headed by

Silambarasan Silambarasan Thesingu Rajendar, nicknamed as Simbu or his initials S. T. R., is an Indian actor, filmmaker and musician in Tamil cinema. He began his acting career by playing roles as a child artist in films directed by his father T. Rajendar, b ...

Gautham Karthik Gautham Karthik (born 12 September 1989) is an Indian actor who works in Tamil-language films. He made his acting debut in Mani Ratnam's '' Kadal'' (2013). Early life and background Gautham Karthik was born to actor Karthik and his first wife ...

and

Kalaiyarasan Kalaiyarasan Harikrishnan is an Indian actor, who works in the Tamil film industry. He has collaborated with directors Myshkin and Pa. Ranjith, with whom he worked in ''Madras'' (2014) for which he received acclaim for his performance. Career ...

. He will also appear in a leading role in an untitled film co-produced by director

A. L. Vijay A. L. Vijay, known professionally as Vijay, is an Indian film director who works in the Tamil film industry. An assistant director with Priyadarshan, he debuted as director with films such as '' Kireedam'' and the critically acclaimed ''Madr ...

, where he features alongside actresses

Vani Bhojan Vani Bhojan (born 28 October 1988) is an Indian actress who works in Tamil cinema. She made her Telugu film debut with ''Meeku Maathrame Cheptha'' in 2019 and her Tamil film debut with '' Oh My Kadavule'' in 2020. Early life and family Bho ...

and

Amritha Aiyer Amritha Aiyer (born 14 May 1994) is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Tamil and Telugu language films. She made her acting debut in the Tamil film ''Padaiveeran'' (2018), and her Telugu debut with ''Red'' (2021). Early life Aiy ...

. Teejay has often reported his inclusion as an actor in larger film projects to the media, though he later did not feature. This included projects such as Ajay Gnanamuthu's '' Cobra'' (2022),

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 ...

's '' Ponniyin Selvan: II'' (2023), the biopic of

Muttiah Muralitharan Deshabandu Muttiah Muralitharan ( si, මුත්තයියා මුරලිදරන්, ta, முத்தையா முரளிதரன், also spelt Muralidaran; born 1972) is a Sri Lankan cricket coach, former professional c ...

titled ''800'', and an untitled film by

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 ...

Filmography

;As actor ;As playback singer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arunasalam, Teejay Tamil actors Living people Actors in Tamil cinema British male singer-songwriters British people of Sri Lankan Tamil descent Sri Lankan Tamil musicians Tamil playback singers 21st-century British singers 21st-century British male singers 1994 births