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.[1]
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.[6]
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).[2] 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.
In 2000, Vijay featured in two films, Kannaal Pesavaa and Anbudan.[7] His career hit a nadir when Buddhan, a project which he had physically transformed for, was stalled and dropped in 2000.[8]
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.[10] Vijay had a special appearance in Iyarkai (2003), which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil.[11]
The first venture, Malai Malai (2009), directed by A. Venkatesh, became a commercial success. The next, Maanja Velu (2010), by the same team, was also a success. Arun Vijay appeared in Magizh Thirumeni's action-thriller Thadaiyara Thaakka (2012), marking a move away from his previous two Masala films.[15]
On September 1, 2015, Vijay launched his own production company called In Cinemas Entertainment (ICE).[17] He said that he launched the company to identify and provide an opportunity to ambitious and talented youngsters.[18]
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.[22] The film was loosely based on various real-life crimes where the suspects are identical twins. Thadam's biggest strength was Vijay's convincing performance as Kavin and Ezhil.[23] In the action thriller film Saaho, Prabhas was the hero while Vijay played a supporting role.[24] In 2020, he appeared in action crime thriller Mafia: Chapter 1 that was directed by Karthick Naren. In the film, Arun Vijay played a narcotics police officer on a mission to hunt down a drug mafia kingpin.[25]
In 2006, Arun Vijay married Aarathi, daughter of film producer Dr. N. S. Mohan [30] 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.[31] Arun Vijay's Hometown is Pattukkottai in Thanjavur District of Tamil Nadu.[32]
Filmography
Films
Note: He was credited as Arunkumar (sometimes Arun) from 1995 to 2006. He was credited as Arun Vijay from 2007 onwards.
^Certain award groups do not simply award one winner. They acknowledge several different recipients, have runners-up, and have third place. Since this is a specific recognition and is different from losing an award, runner-up mentions are considered wins in this award tally. For simplification and to avoid errors, each award in this list has been presumed to have had a prior nomination.