A.L. Vijay | |
|---|---|
 Vijay promoting Devi in 2016 | |
| Born | Chennai, India |
| Occupation | Film director |
| Years active | 2000–Present |
| Spouse |
|
| Children | 1 |
| Parent | A. L. Azhagappan (father) |
| Relatives | Udhaya (brother) |
A. L. Vijay, known professionally as Vijay, is an Indian film director who works in the Tamil film industry. An assistant director with Priyadarshan, [1] he debuted as director with films such as Kireedam (2007), Madrasapattinam (2010), Deiva Thirumagal (2011) and Thaandavam (2012).
Vijay was born into a film family. His father, A. L. Azhagappan, is a noted film producer and a former President of the Tamil Nadu Producers Council. Azhagappan has also appeared as character artist in some films, including the film Eesan. Vijay's brother is the actor Udhaya (actual name: Senthil Kumar). [2]
Vijay was briefly married to actress Amala Paul between 2014 and 2016-17. While Vijay belongs to a Tamil-speaking Hindu family, Amala comes from a Malayalam-speaking Christian family. [3] They got engaged on 07 June 2014 at a Church in Aluva, Kerala, using a ring for the ceremony, [4] and were married in a "traditional south Indian style wedding," presumably Hindu, on 12 June 2014 in Chennai. [5] They separated in July 2016 and were granted a divorce by the courts in February 2017.
In July 2019, in a private family ceremony, Vijay married Dr. R. Aishwarya, a match arranged by their families. [6] On 30 May 2020, the couple had their first child, a baby boy.
Prior to directing films, Vijay was a successful advertisement filmmaker with the Mumbai-based banner Venus Productions, completing more than 100 ad films. His State Bank of India commercial won CNBC's Best Corporate Advertisement Award in 2006. Vijay has claimed that "advertisements teach you how to translate a story idea onto screen with maximum impact in minimum time" and is influenced by the ad works of Suraaj, Prahlad Kakkar and Babu Shankar. [7] In 2001, he began his career in feature films by joining Priyadarshan as an assistant director in his films.
He made his directorial debut with Kireedam in 2007, a remake of the 1989 film of the same name, directed by Sibi Malayil and written by A. K. Lohithadas. Vijay's version featured Ajith Kumar in the lead role with Trisha Krishnan, Rajkiran, Saranya and Vivek also as part of the cast, while the cinematographer was Tirru, the music was composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar and the film was edited by Anthony. Vijay revealed that he "reworked about 80 per cent" from the original version and his first choice of male lead role was Vijay, however his role was grabbed by Ajith for his career security. [7] The film opened to positive reviews with a critic from Sify.com citing that Vijay had "a lot of guts and conviction to make a realistic film". [8] The reviewer from The Hindu also praised the film labelling that "Vijay has neatly packaged a strong story line with a sensibly balanced mix of sentiment and action.", but claimed that "Vijay could have worked on the lead character more." [9] The final scene in the film was changed after release from a sad to an upbeat ending after the producers felt that the original scene may keep audiences away. [10] The film consequently went on to become a profitable venture at the box office. [11] Vijay then returned to work as an assistant to Suraj in his action-masala Padikathavan , by helping with the dialogues and described his work in the project as "a pulsating experience". [7]
Vijay's next remake of the Hindi film Khosla Ka Ghosla in Tamil, under his production house, and hence they collaborated to make Poi Solla Porom . [12] The film was completed within 13 days, with a cast containing veteran actors such as Nassar and Nedumudi Venu as well as relative newcomers including Karthik Kumar and Piaa Bajpai. [12] The film also became one of the first ventures in Tamil cinema to feature a promotional song, with Vijay maintaining that the song reflected the story of the film. [13] The film won positive reviews from critics with The Hindu citing that "Vijay's dialogue, both humorous and thought-provoking, tickles the viewer almost throughout" and that "Vijay has understood the pulse of the audience even while sticking to his stand of providing standard fare". [14]
Vijay revealed that Madrasapattinam was supposed to happen later in his career, but the intervention of producer Kalpathi S. Aghoram of AGS Entertainment realized the viability of the film earlier. [7] Vijay had first explored the script in his college days and drew inspiration from an English professor, who used to talk to them about the freedom movement a lot. Vijay visualized the people, who lived in the pre-independence period of India and explored the concept of how it would have been, if an English girl fell in love with an Indian boy, laying the foundations for the script. [12] The script took six months to write with the help of leading Tamil writer Prabanjan. He also visited independence veterans to understand the history of the city of Madras between 1945 and 1947. [12] Arya was finalised to play the lead role and English Miss Teen World winner Amy Jackson was selected after Vijay found a picture of her through the internet. [15] Despite being a period film, the film was finished in eight months and released in July 2010. [12]
The production of the film, Deiva Thirumagal took five months from start to finish, however, Vijay claimed that the film had been in his plans for four years, but he waited for Vikram to give him dates. [16] Amala Paul was selected after Vijay was pleased with her award-winning work in Mynaa . [16] Sara had appeared in a commercial for Vijay when she was two, but he then lost touch with Sara's family, before he met them and cast Sara in Deiva Thirumagal, following a visit to Mumbai. [17]
Vijay directed the Harris: On The Edge concerts by music composer Harris Jayaraj. [18]
In 2013, he worked with Vijay alongside Amala Paul for the movie Thalaivaa . Despite winning good reviews, the film's delayed release in Tamil Nadu due to protests greatly affected the box office performance in Tamil Nadu, thus ending up as an average grosser.
In February 2016, he was named as a director of Prabhu Deva 's trilingual film Devi opposite Tamannaah which was made in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. This marked his debut in Telugu and Hindi languages. [19]
In 2021, he directed a biographical drama film Thalaivii based on the life of Indian actress-politician J. Jayalalithaa. The film starred Kangana Ranaut as the main protagonist ‘Jayalalithaa’ and Arvind Swami as M. G. Ramachandran. [20] The bilingual film was shot in Tamil and Hindi simultaneously.
Vijay has described that he wants his audience "to immerse themselves" in his films, and hence uses scenes which reflect the local culture, explaining that his scenes should mirror society and "lend it an element of timelessness". [7] He revealed that while constructing a film, he "first thinks of the plot, then the screenplay and then the characters", and tries to portray human values in his films. [16]
He has expressed that he prefers "to mould actors" telling them to react and not act, drawing such inspiration from the work of Suraaj.
Furthermore, Vijay has showed interest in training people and mentoring their careers, citing that he likes to be the oldest member of his crew. [7] His films have a "regular crew" which includes cinematographer Nirav Shah, music director G. V. Prakash Kumar (being his regular music composer until Devi ), production designer Selva Kumar and editor Anthony. [21]
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| Year | Film | Credited as | Language | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Writer | Producer | ||||
| 2007 | Kireedam |  | |  | Tamil | |
| 2008 | Poi Solla Porom | | | | Tamil | |
| 2010 | Madrasapattinam | | | | Tamil | Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Director – Tamil Nominated, Vijay Award for Best Director |
| 2011 | Deiva Thirumagal | | | | Tamil | Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Director Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film (Second prize) Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Director – Tamil |
| 2012 | Thaandavam | | | | Tamil | |
| 2013 | Thalaivaa | | | | Tamil | |
| 2014 | Saivam | | | | Tamil | |
| 2015 | Idhu Enna Maayam | | | | Tamil | |
| Oru Naal Iravil | | | | Tamil | ||
| 2016 | Devi | | | | Tamil | |
| Abhinetri | Telugu | |||||
| Tutak Tutak Tutiya | Hindi | |||||
| 2017 | Vanamagan | | | | Tamil | |
| 2018 | Diya | | | | Tamil | |
| Kanam | Telugu | |||||
| Sila Samayangalil | | | | Tamil | ||
| Lakshmi | | | | Tamil | partially reshot in Telugu | |
| 2019 | Watchman | | | | Tamil | |
| Devi 2 | | | | Tamil | ||
| Abhinetri 2 | Telugu | |||||
| 2021 | Kutty Story | | | | Tamil | Segment: Avanum Naanum [22] |
| Thalaivii | | | | Hindi | ||
| Tamil | ||||||
| Chithirai Sevvanam | | | | Tamil | Zee5 original film | |
| Five Six Seven Eight | | | | Tamil | Zee5 original series | |
| 2023 | Boo | | | | Tamil Telugu | |
| 2024 | Mission: Chapter 1 | | | | Tamil | |
| TBA | Untitled A. L. Vijay film | | | | Tamil | Filming |
Kennedy John Victor, better known by his stage name Vikram, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He is among the most decorated actors in Tamil cinema, with laurels including seven Filmfare Awards South, a National Film Award and a Tamil Nadu State Film Award. Amongst his other honours include the Kalaimamani Award from the Government of Tamil Nadu in 2004 and an honorary doctorate by the Popular University of Milan in May 2011. Vikram is the first Indian actor to receive the Doctorate in the history of the European Universities in acting. Based on the earnings of Indian celebrities, Vikram was included in the Forbes India Celebrity 100 list for 2016 and 2018.
Kireedam (transl. Crown) is a 2007 Indian Tamil-language action drama film directed by A. L. Vijay in his directorial debut. The film is a remake of the 1989 Malayalam film of the same name. It stars Ajith Kumar, Trisha and Rajkiran, while Vivek, Saranya, Ajay, and Santhanam appear in supporting roles. The film's score and soundtrack are composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar, while Tirru was the cinematographer. The film opened on 20 July 2007 to positive reviews and became a hit at the box office. It was dubbed into Telugu as Poorna Market.
Nirav Shah is an Indian cinematographer. He has worked on a number of major box office hits in Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam since his debut with the 2004 Hindi film Paisa Vasool.
Pia Bajpiee is an Indian actress and model who appears primarily in Bollywood and Kollywood films. She is best known for her performances as Roshini in Venkat Prabhu's comedy Goa and Saro in K. V. Anand's political thriller Ko.
Poi Solla Porom is a 2008 Tamil comedy film directed by A. L. Vijay. It is a remake of the Hindi film Khosla Ka Ghosla and stars Karthik Kumar, debutante Piaa Bajpai, and Nedumudi Venu, alongside an ensemble supporting cast including Omar Lateef, Justina, Lakshmi Ramakrishnan, Cochin Haneefa, Nassar, Bosskey, John Vijay, and Moulee. The music was composed by M. G. Sreekumar with editing done by Anthony and cinematography by Aravind Krishna. The film released on 12 September 2008. The story is loosely based on real-life famous landgrabber and land shark E.V.PerumalSamy Reddy of EVP Film city based out of chennai who is famous for forging documents to take possession of others land.
Madrasapattinam is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language historical romantic drama film written and directed by A. L. Vijay. The film stars Arya with Amy Jackson,, while Carole Trangmar-Palmer played older version of Amy. In addition to Nassar, Cochin Hanifa, Lisa Lazarus, Alexx O'Nell and others play supporting roles. The music was composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar with editing by Anthony and cinematography by Nirav Shah. The film was released on 9 July 2010 and became a box office success.
The Vijay Award for Best Actor is given by STAR Vijay as part of its annual Vijay Awards ceremony for Tamil (Kollywood) films. It was given from the second ceremony onwards. Dhanush and Vikram are the most award winners with 2 awards each.
The Vijay Award for Best Actress is given by STAR Vijay as part of its annual Vijay Awards ceremony for Tamil (Kollywood) films. It was given from the second ceremony onwards.
The Vijay for Best Male Playback Singer is given by STAR Vijay as part of its annual Vijay Awards ceremony for Tamil (Kollywood) films. The award was first given in 2007.
Amala Paul is an Indian actress and producer who predominantly appears in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films. Starting her career acting debut in the Malayalam film Neelathamara (2009), in a minor supporting role, she later appeared as the lead actress role in the Tamil film Mynaa (2010).
Deiva Thirumagal is a 2011 Indian Tamil-language melodrama film written and directed by A. L. Vijay and produced by M. Chinthamani and Ronnie Screwvala. the fim features Vikram in lead role as an intellectually disabled man while Sara Arjun, Anushka Shetty, Amala Paul, Nassar, Krishna Kumar, Santhanam, M.S Bhaskar and Sachin Khedekar playing pivotal roles.
Thaandavam (transl. Dance) is a 2012 Indian Tamil-language neo-noir action thriller film written and directed by A. L. Vijay. The film stars an ensemble cast with Vikram, Jagapati Babu, Anushka Shetty, Amy Jackson, Lakshmi Rai, Nassar, Santhanam, Raj Arjun and Saranya in pivotal roles It is produced by UTV Motion Pictures and features music composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar. Thaandavam was released worldwide on 28 September 2012.
Rajamani Velraj is an Indian cinematographer, director and writer who primarily works in Tamil and Hindi cinema. He is well known for his camera work in films like Asuran, Aadukalam, Vada Chennai, Kadaikutty Singam and Komban, and for directing Velaiilla Pattadhari and Thanga Magan.
Saivam (transl. Vegetarianism) is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language drama film written, directed and produced by A. L. Vijay. The film features Nassar in the lead role and child actress Sara Arjun plays another pivotal role. The film's cinematography was handled by Nirav Shah and music composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar. The film was released on 27 June 2014 to positive reviews. The film was remade in Telugu as Dagudumootha Dandakor (2015), with Sara Arjun reprising her role from the original film.
Kathai Thiraikathai Vasanam Iyakkam is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language independent satirical drama film written and directed by R. Parthiepan and produced by K. Chandramohan and independent producer, Haresh Vikram Vijayakumar. The project stars an all-new cast along with several experienced actors in cameo roles and becomes Parthiepan's first directorial film in which he does not feature in the lead role. The film, which has a tagline reading "a film without a story", began production in late 2013 and was released on 15 August 2014.
Sara Arjun is an Indian actress who mainly appears in Tamil and Hindi films and commercials. The daughter of actor Raj Arjun, she had appeared in a series of commercials and a short Hindi film before the age of six. In 2010, she was signed on to portray a lead role in A. L. Vijay's Tamil drama film Deiva Thirumagal, portraying the role of a six-year-old whose father was a mentally challenged adult. The film opened to critical and commercial acclaim, with Arjun's performance receiving praise from film critics.
George Maryan is an Indian actor and comedian, who has appeared in Tamil cinema. He started his career in theatre, before working in Tamil cinema and has often collaborated with film-makers A. L. Vijay, Siva, M. Manikandan, Lokesh Kanagaraj, Thangar Bachchan, Sundar C and Priyadarshan.
Deiva Thirumagal is the soundtrack to the 2011 film of the same name directed by A. L. Vijay starring Vikram, Sara Arjun, Anushka Shetty, Amala Paul. Featuring music composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar, the soundtrack has six songs written by Na. Muthukumar and an instrumental track. The album was released by Think Music on 14 April 2011 at the Chennai Trade Centre. The soundtrack was positively received by critics, and fetched Prakash a nomination for Best Music Director – Tamil at the 59th Filmfare Awards South, which he won for Aadukalam (2011).
Thaandavam is the soundtrack to the 2012 Tamil-language film of the same name directed by A. L. Vijay, starring Vikram, Anushka Shetty and Amy Jackson. The film's musical score is composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar in his 25th film and the album consists of seven songs written by Na. Muthukumar and an instrumental track. The album was released at a launch event held in Chennai on 15 August 2012 coinciding Independence Day and the soundtrack was marketed to digital platforms and CDs through Junglee Music label.