V. I. S. Jayapalan is a Sri Lankan-Norwegian writer, political commentator and actor who has appeared in Indian films, mainly 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 ''Kollywo ...

. He made his acting debut 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 Inte ...

's '' Aadukalam'' (2011) and won a

National Film Award The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directora ...

for his portrayal.

Career

Jayapalan was born in

Uduvil Uduvil ( ta, உடுவில்) is an agricultural village of about 32.7 square kilometers situated along the KKS Road at about five miles to the North of Jaffna city, Sri Lanka. It is surrounded by the villages Chunnākam, Kandarōdai, Sa ...

Jaffna Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th mo ...

, Sri Lanka. He began writing in the 1970s while studying at the

University of Jaffna The University of Jaffna ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாணப் பல்கலைக்கழகம், translit=Yāḻppāṇap Palkalaikkaḻakam; si, යාපනය විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය, ''Yāpanaya Viśvavidyālaya''; ...

and published his first anthology in 1986. He studied a degree in

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

during his time at the university, while also leading the student union. Since then he has published at least 12 anthologies of poetry and short fiction. As the Sri Lankan Civil War escalated, he fled to

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

, Norway in 1988 and since then he has been living in Norway as a Norwegian citizen and was moving back and forth to South Indian state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

to continue his art and literary work. In 1995, he was awarded as the best immigrant writer by the Norwegian Writers’ Association, with poetry being translated into English, Norwegian as well as in to Sinhala. In 2009, some of his poems were translated into English and published as a book in Canada - named 'Wilting Laughter’ - along with selected poems of R. Cheran and Puthuvai Raththinathurai. Through his friendship with film maker

Balu Mahendra Balanathan Benjamin Mahendran (19 May 1939 13 February 2014), commonly known as Balu Mahendra, was a Sri Lankan-born Indian cinematographer, director, screenwriter and film editor who worked predominantly in Tamil cinema. Widely regarded as ...

, he was introduced to

who was keen to cast Jayapalan in his film '' Aadukalam'' (2011). After accepting the offer, he worked alongside an ensemble cast including actor Dhanush, with the film releasing to a positive response at the box office in January 2011. Critics lauded his performance as the

cock fighting A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or ente ...

clan's patriarch, Pettaikaran, with Sify.com labelling him as a "revelation" and Behindwoods writing that with the "right kind of expressions and body language, he demonstrates a new type of villainy". He subsequently went on to win a special jury award at the National Film Awards in 2011, as well as garnering nominations at the Filmfare and Vijay Awards.

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jayapalan, VIS 1944 births Male actors in Tamil cinema Alumni of the University of Jaffna Sri Lankan emigrants to Norway Naturalised citizens of Norway Refugees in Norway Tamil male actors Living people People from Northern Province, Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Tamil artists Sri Lankan actors Tamil actors Sri Lankan Tamil poets Sri Lankan Tamil writers Male actors in Malayalam cinema Male actors in Kannada cinema

Career

Filmography

See also

References