Vijay Kumar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 2 April 1987 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Alma mater | Government College of Engineering, Salem |
| Occupations | |
| Years active | 2013 - present |
Vijay Kumar is an Indian actor, writer, director, lyricist and producer. His directorial debut, Uriyadi , a political thriller set in the 1990s, was released in 2016 [1] [2] [3] and was lauded as one of the best political thrillers in Tamil cinema. [4] [5] His second project Uriyadi 2 released in April 2019.
Vijay was born in Chennai where he spent his schooling years. [6] He then studied Metallurgical Engineering at the Government College of Engineering, Salem. [7] A software engineer by profession, he quit his decade-long career in reputed companies like IBM, Infosys, Aditi Technologies, etc., to pursue his passion in cinema. [8]
Vijay was a Project Lead in IBM when he quit his job to pursue his passion in filmmaking. [9] He made a short film and applied to the first season of the Nalaya Iyakunar show in 2009. [8] [6] He was selected and subsequently screened two short films on the show. However, he left for personal reasons. [6]
He moved to the United States in 2010 and began writing the script for Uriyadi in early 2011. It was initially titled Vidiyum Varai VinmeengalaaVom (V4). He spent over a year on the script, sketching more than 2500 shots for its storyboard. [10]
Back in India, Vijay Kumar started his production house Souvenir Productions in April 2013. [11] He conducted a three-month acting workshop for the actors as almost all of them were debutants. [10] [11]
Uriyadi was released in theaters on 27 May 2016. [12] Upon its release, The Hindu had a chat with Vijay and cited that Uriyadi is "A throwback to the 90s". [13] Uriyadi 2, produced by Suriya's 2D Entertainment, directed by and starring Vijay Kumar released on 5 April 2019.
Vijay Kumar's next film was Fight Club, a youth action-drama that went on floors on 16 July 2021. It stars Vijay Kumar and Monisha Menon in the lead and is produced by Reel Good Films. [14] [15] The principal photography was completed on 3 July 2022. [16] Presented by Lokesh Kanagaraj's production company, G Squad, [17] the film released on 15 December 2023 to favorable reviews. [18]
Vijay Kumar will also play the lead in Reel Good Films second production, Election. [19] The film, directed by Thamizh, co-stars Preethi Asrani. It also features Pavel Navageethan, George Maryan and Dileepan, with music by Govind Vasantha. The principal photography wrapped up on 4 September 2022 and the film will release on 17 May 2024. Vijay Kumar has also written the dialogues of the film. [20]
 | This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources .(December 2022) |
| Year | Film | Credited as | Role | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Writer | Director | Actor | Producer | Background Music | ||||
| 2016 | Uriyadi |  | | | | | Lenin Vijay | |
| 2019 | Uriyadi 2 | | | |  | | Lenin Vijay | |
| 2020 | Soorarai Pottru | Dialogues | | | | | — | [21] |
| 2023 | Fight Club | Dialogues | | | Creative Producer | | Selvaa | |
| 2024 | Election | Dialogues | | | Creative Producer | | Nadarajan | |
| Year | Film | Award | Category | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Uriyadi | Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards [22] | Best Debut Actor | Won |
| 2017 | SIIMA [23] | Best Debut Actor | Nominated | |
| Tentkotta Awards [24] | Most Watched film of a Debutant Filmmaker | Won | ||
| Norway Tamil Film Festival Awards [25] | Best Production | Won | ||
| Tamil Nadu Murpoku Ezhuthalar Kalaingargal Sangam Film Awards [26] [27] | Special Award for Production | Won | ||
| Special Award for Writing and Direction | Won | |||
| Radio Mirchi Madurai Awards [28] | Best Director | Won | ||
| SIIMA [23] | Best Debut Director | Nominated | ||
| Filmibeat Tamil Cinema Award [29] | Best Debut Director | Won | ||
| Behindwoods Gold Medals [30] | Direction | Wall of Fame |
Saravanan Sivakumar, known by his stage name Suriya, is an Indian actor and film producer. He primarily works in Tamil cinema where he is one of the highest paid actors. He has received numerous awards including two National Film Awards, six Filmfare Awards South, five Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and two SIIMA Awards. Suriya has featured six times in the Celebrity 100 list of Forbes India, which takes into account the earnings of Indian celebrities.
G. V. Prakash Kumar is an Indian music composer, playback singer, actor, and film producer known for his work in Tamil and Telugu films. His first film was S Pictures' Veyil (2006) and he gained fame in Tamil films by the early 2010s. He made his debut in acting on 2015 through Darling. He has won one National Award, three Filmfare Awards and three SIIMA Awards in his film career.
Arun Vijay, 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.
Vijay Gurunatha Sethupathi Kalimuthu credited as Vijay Sethupathi is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Tamil films. He has also worked in Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi language and done over 50 Films in his career. He is a recipient of several accolades including a National Film Award, two Filmfare Awards South and two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards.
S. R. Prabhu is an Indian film producer. During his tenure at Studio Green (2010–13), he has produced 10 Tamil films and distributed 16 films in Tamil and Telugu. Later he founded Dream Warrior Pictures, a film production company in which his brother S. R. Prakashbabu has become partner in 2014. He is also a partner in Potential Studios, which is another film production company. S. R. Prabhu is a relative of the veteran actor Sivakumar and cousin of actors Suriya and Karthi.
Kaali Venkat is an Indian actor who mainly appears in Tamil language films in supporting roles.
2D Entertainment is an Indian film production and distribution company established by Suriya. Other key people involved are Rajsekar Pandian, Suriya's wife Jyothika and Suriya's brother Karthi. The company was named by the starting letter of Suriya's children Diya and Dev. The company was established in 2013.
Bairavaa is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by Bharathan, and produced by B. Venkatarama Reddy. The film stars Vijay in the titular role alongside Keerthy Suresh, Jagapathi Babu, Daniel Balaji, Sathish, Thambi Ramaiah, Mime Gopi, Sija Rose, Harish Uthaman and Aparna Vinod.
Maanagaram (transl. Metropolis) is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, and produced by S. R. Prabhu. The film stars Sri, Sundeep Kishan, and Regina Cassandra, and its soundtrack was composed by Javed Riaz. It is the feature directorial debut of Lokesh Kanagaraj. The film was released on 10 March 2017 to positive reviews from critics. It was remade in Hindi as Mumbaikar (2023).
Uriyadi is a 2016 Indian Tamil-language political action thriller film written, directed and produced by newcomer Vijay Kumar under the production banner Souvenir Productions with Nalan Kumarasamy, Sameer Bharat Ram and Satish Swaminathan presented and co-produced the film. The film stars Vijay Kumar, Mime Gopi, Citizen Sivakumar, Chandru Kumar, Henna Bella, Jeyakanth Velu and Suruli. Set in the 1990s, it revolves around four bachelors, whose carefree lives take a turn when they are embroiled in a political fight, but they end up finding their mutual interconnections.
Uriyadi 2 is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language political action thriller film written and directed by Vijay Kumar and produced by actor Suriya’s 2D Entertainment. It stars Vijay Kumar and newcomer Vismaya, while Abbas, "Parithabangal" Sudhakar, Durai Ramesh, and Shankar Thas play supporting roles. The music was composed by Govind Vasantha, and the film was released on 5 April 2019.
Kaithi (transl. Prisoner) is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj. It is produced by S. R. Prakash Babu and S. R. Prabhu under Dream Warrior Pictures and co-produced by Tiruppur Vivek under Vivekananda Pictures. It stars Karthi in the lead role, along with Narain, Arjun Das, Harish Uthaman, George Maryan, and Dheena in pivotal roles. In the film, a recently released prisoner races against time to drive poisoned cops to a hospital in exchange for meeting his daughter while evading criminals chasing him.
Soorarai Pottru is a 2020 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Sudha Kongara, who wrote the screenplay with Shalini Usha Nair. The film, co-produced by Suriya, Jyothika and Guneet Monga, stars Suriya, Aparna Balamurali and Paresh Rawal, while Mohan Babu, Urvashi and Karunas appear in supporting roles.
Lokesh Kanagaraj is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer who works in Tamil films. He started his career with a short film in the 2016 anthology Aviyal. He later directed his first feature film Maanagaram (2017). He created the Lokesh Cinematic Universe (LCU) franchise after the commercial success of Kaithi (2019), the franchise's first installment. He directed Master (2021), a standalone featuring Vijay which emerged a commercial success during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was followed by Vikram (2022), the second installment in the LCU, with Kamal Haasan in the lead role, which emerged as one of the highest grossing Indian films. He then worked on Leo (2023), which became his most successful film, it became one of the highest grossing Indian films, earning over ₹600 crore (US$72 million) worldwide, collaborating with Vijay again and serving it as the third installment in the LCU.
Master is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language action drama film directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj and produced by XB Film Creators. The film stars Vijay in the titular role, alongside Vijay Sethupathi, Malavika Mohanan, Andrea Jeremiah, Arjun Das, Shanthanu Bhagyaraj, and Gouri G. Kishan. It is also co-produced by Vijay's manager, Jagadish Palanisamy, jointly with Seven Screen Studio, which also distributed the film. The film follows John Durairaj "J.D.", an alcoholic professor, who takes a three-month teaching job in a juvenile home and clashes with a ruthless gangster named Bhavani, who uses the children as the scapegoat for his criminal activities.
Vikram is a 2022 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj and produced by Raaj Kamal Films International. The film stars Kamal Haasan in the titular role, alongside Vijay Sethupathi, Fahadh Faasil, Narain, Kalidas Jayaram, Gayathrie, Chemban Vinod Jose, Santhana Bharathi and Elango Kumaravel. It is the second instalment in the Lokesh Cinematic Universe and is a spiritual successor to the 1986 film of the same name. The film follows Vikram, a former commander of the black-ops squad's pilot batch, and his efforts to take down Sandhanam, the runner of a drug syndicate Vetti Vagaiyara.
Soorarai Pottru is the soundtrack album, composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar, to the 2020 Indian Tamil-language drama film of the same name, directed by Sudha Kongara, starring Suriya and Paresh Rawal in the lead roles, along with Aparna Balamurali, Urvashi, and Mohan Babu in other prominent roles. The soundtrack album consists of 9 songs all of them were penned by lyricists Snehan, Yugabharathi, Vivek, Arunraja Kamaraj, Ekadesi, Maya Mahalingam and Arivu. The soundtrack album was released digitally on 24 July 2020, through the Sony Music India record label.
Shobi Paulraj is an Indian choreographer in the Kollywood industry. He is the founder of IBO Dance Studio.
