Arun Vijay

Arun Vijay (born 19 November 1977), formerly known as Arun Kumar, is an Indian actor who works primarily in Tamil cinema.

He also starred in a few films in Telugu, Kannada and Hindi.

Born as Arun Kumar and being the only son of veteran actor Vijayakumar, he debuted in Sundar C.'s Murai Mappillai (1995).

His two elder sisters Kavitha and Anitha, had debuted in the 1995 film, Coolie.

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 musical Love Story to be his acting debut, but the delay of that project meant that he accepted Anbalaya Films' offer of Sundar C.'s Murai Mappillai (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, K. Prabakaran, Kalaranjini, Goundamani and Senthil.

The film was released in December 1995.

In 1996, Vijay's second film, Priyam, was released.

Vijay then signed for two films Kathirunda Kadhal and Ganga Gowri under Ganga Gowri Productions.

Both were released in 1997.

Kathirunda Kadhal was Arun's first film with Suvalakshmi.

He received early success in Thulli Thirintha Kaalam (1998) and Pandavar Bhoomi (2001).

In 1998, Vijay played the lead role in director Balasekaran's film Thulli Thirintha Kaalam.

It was produced by Kavithalayaa Productions, 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, Goundamani and Senthil.

Anbudan, released in November 2000, had two heroines Meena 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, 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 (Second Prize) in 2001.

Vijay's next film was Mutham (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 (2003), which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil.

The film's actress Priyanka Trivedi 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.

He acted in director Ramesh Selvan's Jananam (2004).

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 (2009), Maanja Velu (2010), Thadaiyara Thaakka (2012), Kuttram 23 (2017), Chekka Chivantha Vaanam (2018), Thadam (2019), Mafia: Chapter 1 (2020) and Yaanai (2022).

He is noted for his villainous roles in Yennai Arindhaal (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 and three SIIMA Awards.

Arun Vijay was born as the only son to actor Vijayakumar and his first wife Muthukannu.

He studied at Don Bosco Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Egmore.

After completing his schooling, he joined Loyola college for his higher studies.