Vijay Sethupathi

Vijaya Gurunatha Sethupathi (born 16 January 1978), known professionally as Vijay Sethupathi, is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Tamil films. He is a recipient of several accolades including a National Film Award.

Following a stint as an NRI accountant in Dubai, Sethupathi started his film career working as a background actor and playing minor supporting roles for few years before playing his first lead role in Seenu Ramasamy's ''Thenmerku Paruvakaatru'' (2010). In 2012, he rose to massive popularity with critical and commercial successes in ''Pizza'', ''Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom'' and ''Sundarapandian''.

Sethupathi has established himself as an actor with his notable work in Tamil films like ''Idharkuthane Aasaipattai Balakumara'' (2013), ''Pannaiyarum Padminiyum'' (2014), ''Kadhalum Kadandhu Pogum'' (2016), ''Iraivi'' (2016), ''Vikram Vedha'' (2017), '' 96'' (2018), ''Chekka Chivantha Vaanam'' (2018), '' Petta'' (2019), ''Super Deluxe'' (2019), ''Master'' (2021), '' Vikram'' (2022) and Telugu films like ''Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy'' (2019) and ''Uppena'' (2021).

Early life

Vijay Sethupathi was born on 16 January 1978 and was raised in Rajapalayam until he moved to Chennai in class six. He lived in Ennore located in North Chennai. He attended the MGR Higher Secondary School in Kodambakkam and Little Angels Mat. Hr. Sec. School. According to Sethupathi, he was a "below-average student right from school" and was neither interested in sports nor extra-curricular activities.Limitton, Teena (23 May 2013
My Struggle is my Strength: Vijay Sethupathi
''Deccan Chronicle'' At age 16, he auditioned for a role in ''Nammavar'' (1994), but was rejected due to his short height.

Sethupathi did a series of odd jobs for pocket money: salesman at a retail store, cashier at a fast food joint and a phone booth operator. He graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the Dhanraj Baid Jain College (an affiliate of the University of Madras) in Thoraipakam. A week after he finished college, he joined as an account assistant at a wholesale cement business. He had to take care of three siblings and moved to Dubai, United Arab Emirates as an accountant because it paid him four times more than what he was making in India. While in Dubai, he met his future-wife, Jessie, online. The two dated, eventually marrying in 2003.

Unhappy with his job, he returned to India in 2003. After a brief stint in the interior decoration business with friends, he joined a marketing company that dealt with readymade kitchens when he saw Koothupattarai’s poster. He recalled director Balu Mahendra remarking that he had a "very photogenic face", and motivated him to pursue an acting career. But never cast Sethupathi in his films.

Career

2006–2011

He subsequently joined the Chennai-based theatre group Koothu-P-Pattarai as an accountant and actor where he observed actors from close quarters. He made his beginnings as a background actor, particularly playing the role of the lead character's friend in a few films. He also acted in television series, including the well-known series ''Penn'' that began in March 2006, as well as several short films as part of the television show ''Nalaya Iyakunar'' for Kalaignar TV. He worked with Karthik Subbaraj on many short films, who later cast him in his first feature film, subsequently yield him the Best Actor award for one of his films at the Norway Tamil Film Festival short film competition.

Sethupathi accompanied a group of actors who went to director Selvaraghavan's studio to audition for his gangster film ''Pudhupettai'' (2006) and was selected to play Dhanush's friend in the film. Following ''Pudhupettai'', he was associated with a Tamil-Kannada bilingual film called ''Akhaada''. While he was selected to play the lead in the Tamil version, the director offered him the antagonistic role in its Kannada version. However, the film did not see a theatrical release. After making an appearance in Prabu Solomon's '' Lee'' (2007), he was cast by director Suseenthiran in minor supporting roles in his first two projects, ''Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu'' (2009) and '' Naan Mahaan Alla'' (2010). Sethupathi would later credit Suseenthiran with having had an "important role in helping him realise his dreams". Director Seenu Ramasamy identified Sethupathi's talent during the audition of his film and Sethupathi landed his first lead role in Ramasamy's drama film ''Thenmerku Paruvakaatru'' (2011), in which he portrayed a shepherd, the film went on to win three National Film Awards including the prize for the Best Tamil Feature Film of that year.

2012–2013

2012 marked a turning point in Sethupathi's career; all his three releases were critical and commercial successes, resulting in a rise in his popularity. He was first seen in a negative role in ''Sundarapandian'' which featured M. Sasikumar in the lead role, and then played the lead roles in the directorial debuts of Karthik Subbaraj and Balaji Tharaneetharan, the thriller film ''Pizza'' and the comedy entertainer ''Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom'', respectively. He enacted the role of Michael, a delivery boy in the former and a young man named Prem who sustains short-term memory loss two days before his marriage in the latter, with his performance in both films being praised by critics. Malini Mannath from ''The New Indian Express'' in her review of ''Pizza'' wrote: "Sethupathy, a delight to watch, carries the entire film on his shoulders. His voice perfectly modulated, he proves his versatility and acumen to handle any role. Michael’s nightmarish experience, and his fear and horror when he’s trapped in the mansion, is perfectly conveyed by the actor". With regard to ''Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom'', ''The Times of India'' reviewer M. Suganth cited that Sethupathi "continues his superb show from ''Pizza'' conveying Prem's peculiar condition with vacant stares and amusing pauses between his lines", further noting: "That he never makes the character's repetitive dialogues irritating is a proof of his terrific timing". According to a survey published by BBC
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