Vijay Vasanth

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Vijay Vasanth
Vijay Vasanth at the Velaikkaran Audio Launch.jpg
Vijay in December 2017
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
Assumed office
19 July 2021

Vijay Vasanth (born Vijayakumar Vasanthakumar on 20 May 1983) is an Indian politician who is a Member of Parliament from Kanyakumari Loksabha constituency. He contested and won the bypoll that took place for Kanyakumari Loksabha constituency in May 2021. [2] He is also an actor who has worked in Tamil language films. He is the son of the late politician and entrepreneur H. Vasanthakumar and is the managing director of Vasanth & Co. [3] He entered politics in 2021 after the death of his father, taking up the mantle of General Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee.

Contents

Career

Politics

Vijay Vasanth entered active politics after the death of his father and sitting MP of Kanyakumari Loksabha constituency in 2020 due to Covid. [4] Prior to that he was assisting his father in constituency related works and also played a major role during his father's election to Parliament. He was appointed General secretary of Tamil Nadu Congress Committee in 2021. [5] Later when bypolls for Kanyakumari were announced in May 2021 he was given ticket by Congress party to contest. His electoral rival was veteran Pon. Radhakrishnan of BJP, who had been a Union minister. Vijay Vasanth won the polls by a majority of 1.34 lakh votes. [6]

Acting

Vijay Vasanth made his debut in Venkat Prabhu's cult sports film, Chennai 600028 (2007), playing a supporting role as a member of the Sharks cricket team. Vasanth was introduced to Venkat Prabhu by his close friend Shiva, who first introduced him to music composer Yuvan Shankar Raja, before he later became acquainted with Prabhu. [7]

The success of that film prompted him to star alongside several of the same co-stars in Thozha [8] and he acted in S. Shankar's movie Nanban with stars Vijay, and his close friend Shiva he debut in the part as Paneer Selvam: a student with a passion for machines. After Virus tells him that he will not graduate, he commits suicide. [9] before making a guest appearance in Venkat Prabhu's next project Saroja . Vijay Vasanth then went on to portray a leading role in Samudrakani's Naadodigal alongside Sasikumar and Bharani, with the film becoming a commercial and critical success. [10] He followed it up in 2010 with another supporting role as Gowshik in romantic film, Kanimozhi , where he appeared alongside Jai and Shazahn Padamsee. [11] Vijay Vasanth made a cameo appearance in the film Velaikkaran (2017). [7]

Business

Established by his father H. Vasanthakumar in 1978, Vasanth & Co has over 96 stores across Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Bengaluru. With a turnover of above Rs 4,000 crore in 2018, the chain of consumer electronics and home appliances is a household name across Tamil Nadu. Vijay Vasanth currently serves as the company's managing director. [7]

Personal life

He is the son of H. Vasanthakumar, founder of Vasanth & Co and former Member of Parliament. He was married in the year 2010. [12] His paternal cousin is Tamilisai Soundararajan, the current governor of Telangana state.

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
2007 Chennai 600028 Gopi
2008 Thozha Gajani
Saroja Special appearance
2009 Nadodigal Chandran
2010 Kanimozhi Gowshik
2011 Mankatha Wine shop ownerCameo appearance
2012 Nanban PanneerselvamCameo appearance
2013 Mathil Mel Poonai Karthik
Biriyani VasanthCameo appearance
2014 Ennamo Nadakkudhu Vijay
Theriyama Unna Kadhalichitten Karthik
2015 Masss DrinkerCameo appearance
Vanna Jigina Pavadai
2016 Vetrivel ChandranCameo appearance
Chennai 600028 II Gopi
Achamindri Sakthi [13]
2017 Velaikkaran Bhagya
2022 My Dear Lisa Kennedy [14]

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References

  1. "Wedding bells for Vijay Vasanth". The Times of India.
  2. "Congress' Vijay Vasanth wins Kanniyakumari byelection".
  3. "Vijay Vasanth". Jointscene. Archived from the original on 7 January 2010. Retrieved 9 August 2009.
  4. "Tamil Nadu Congress MP Vasantha Kumar dies of COVID-19". The Week .
  5. "Tamil Nadu: Congress fills 450 party posts with eye on polls". The Times of India. 3 January 2021.
  6. "Congress retains Kanyakumari Lok Sabha seat". The Hindu. 3 May 2021.
  7. 1 2 3 "Vijay Vasanth: Hit by cricket, cinema and gizmo fever". The New Indian Express.
  8. "Avoid Thozha". www.rediff.com.
  9. Nanban (DVD): Title credits from 7.11 to 7.42
  10. Raghavan, Nikhil (5 January 2013). "Etcetera: Minimum takes, maximum impact". The Hindu via www.thehindu.com.
  11. Subramanian, Karthik (27 November 2010). "Kanimozhi - Dull dose of realism". The Hindu via www.thehindu.com.
  12. "Vijay Vasanth ties the knot"
  13. Deccan Chronicle (12 May 2016). "Vijay Vasanth is a pickpocket in Achamindri". Archived from the original on 10 September 2022. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
  14. "Ranjan directs Vijay Vasanth in horror film". The Deccan Chronicle. 13 October 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2023.