Vijay Kumar (filmmaker)

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Vijay Kumar
Vijay kumar.jpg
Born
NationalityIndian
Alma mater Government College of Engineering, Salem
Occupations
Years active2013 - 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.

Contents

Early life

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]

Film career

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]

Filmography

YearFilmCredited asRoleNotes
WriterDirectorActorProducerBackground Music
2016 Uriyadi Green check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgLenin Vijay
2019 Uriyadi 2 Green check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgRed x.svgRed x.svgLenin Vijay
2020 Soorarai Pottru DialoguesRed x.svgRed x.svgRed x.svgRed x.svg  [21]
2023 Fight Club DialoguesRed x.svgGreen check.svgCreative ProducerRed x.svgSelvaa
2024 Election DialoguesRed x.svgGreen check.svgCreative ProducerRed x.svgNadarajan

Awards and nominations

YearFilmAwardCategoryNotes
2016 Uriyadi Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards [22] Best Debut ActorWon
2017 SIIMA [23] Best Debut ActorNominated
Tentkotta Awards [24] Most Watched film of a Debutant FilmmakerWon
Norway Tamil Film Festival Awards [25] Best ProductionWon
Tamil Nadu Murpoku Ezhuthalar Kalaingargal Sangam Film Awards [26] [27] Special Award for ProductionWon
Special Award for Writing and DirectionWon
Radio Mirchi Madurai Awards [28] Best DirectorWon
SIIMA [23] Best Debut DirectorNominated
Filmibeat Tamil Cinema Award [29] Best Debut DirectorWon
Behindwoods Gold Medals [30] DirectionWall of Fame

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References

  1. Rangan, Baradwaj (28 May 2016). "Uriyadi review: A gritty little film by a solid filmmaker". The Hindu. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  2. "Uriyadi Movie review". Times of India. 28 May 2016.Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg
  3. "Uriyadi Review: An unmissable masterpiece that deserves our support!". Fullyfilmy.in. 30 May 2016. Archived from the original on 5 April 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  4. "Uriyadi director Vijay Kumar spills the beans on his next". Hindustan Times. 8 March 2017.
  5. "Vijay Kumar stuns audience by his performance in Uriyadi". Awesome Machi. 31 July 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 "Uriyadi movie director and technicians interview". Ananda Vikatan. 15 June 2016.
  7. "About Vijay Kumar". Facebook.
  8. 1 2 "Uriyadi director Vijay Kumar interview". Behindwoods. 2 June 2016.
  9. "Uriyadi director Vijay Kumar interview". Behindwoods. 2 June 2016.
  10. 1 2 "More than 2000 shots created for story board". The Times of India. 16 January 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  11. 1 2 "Team Uriyadi opens up about the movie". Herotalkies. 16 June 2016.
  12. Uriyadi IMDb
  13. "The Hindu Interview". The Hindu. 28 May 2016.
  14. "AFTER SOORARAI POTTRU, THIS URIYADI FAME KICKSTARTS HIS NEXT YOUTH ACTION-DRAMA". Behindwoods. 16 July 2021.
  15. "URIYADI VIJAYKUMAR'S NEW FILM POOJA HAPPENED TODAY". Indiaglitz. 16 July 2021.
  16. "It's a wrap for Vijay Kumar's next". Cinema Express. 3 July 2022.
  17. Bureau, The Hindu (29 November 2023). "Vijay Kumar's next is 'Fight Club', presented by Lokesh Kanagaraj's G Squad banner". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  18. "Fight Club Movie Review : Filmmaking flair trumps familiarity to make Fight Club engaging". Times of India. 15 December 2023.
  19. Bureau, The Hindu (30 April 2024). "'Election': Vijay Kumar's film with 'Seththumaan' director gets a release date". The Hindu. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  20. "Uriyadi Vijay Kumar raises expextations". New Cinema Express. 5 September 2022.
  21. "Soorarai Pottru Review". Cinema Express. 12 November 2020.
  22. "Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards of 2016". Ananda Vikatan. 28 December 2016.
  23. 1 2 "Nominations list for the SIIMA 2017 announced!". Sify.com. Archived from the original on 5 June 2017.
  24. "Tentkotta Awards". Tentkotta. 28 April 2017.
  25. "Norway Tamil Film Festival: Complete list of winners". Times of India. 7 March 2017.
  26. "Uriyadi gets a new recognition from Tamil literary world". NDTV Tamil. 1 September 2017.
  27. "Visaranai, Joker, Uriyadi get valuable recognition". Indiaglitz Tamil. 4 September 2017.
  28. Radio Mirchi Madurai Awards
  29. "Filmibeat Tamil Cinema Awards of 2016". Filmibeat. 13 January 2017.
  30. "Behindwoods Gold Medals Wall of Fame". Behindwoods. 12 April 2017.