Arun Vijay

Arun Vijay (born 19 November 1977), formerly known as Arunkumar, is an Indian actor who works primarily in Tamil cinema. He also starred in a few films in Telugu, Kannada and Hindi.

Born as Arun Kumar and being the only son of veteran actor Vijayakumar, he debuted in Sundar C's Murai Mappillai (1995). He received early success in Thulli Thirintha Kaalam (1998) and Pandavar Bhoomi (2001).

After a string of failures, he changed his name to Arun Vijay and achieved breakthrough success and recognition for playing lead roles in Malai Malai (2009), Maanja Velu (2010), Thadaiyara Thaakka (2012), Kuttram 23 (2017), Chekka Chivantha Vaanam (2018), Thadam (2019), Mafia: Chapter 1 (2020) and Yaanai (2022). He is noted for his villainous roles in Yennai Arindhaal (2015), Bruce Lee: The Fighter (2015) and Chakravyuha (2016).

Early life Arun Vijay was born on 19 November 1977 as the only son to actor Vijayakumar and his first wife Muthukannu. His hometown is Pattukkottai in Thanjavur District of Tamil Nadu.

He studied at Don Bosco Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Egmore. After completing his schooling, he joined Loyola college for his further studies.

Career 1995–2001 Arun had a desire to act since childhood. He developed a strong interest by watching his father during film shoots. Arun started getting film offers when he was in tenth grade but his father wanted him to complete his schooling before acting in films.

Arun 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). His career hit a nadir when Buddhan, a project which he had physically transformed for, was stalled and dropped in 2000.

In 2001, he played a civil engineer in Pandavar Bhoomi, directed by Cheran. This was the first movie in which Arun and his father Vijayakumar acted together. This movie won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film (Second Prize) in 2001.

2002–2012 Arun'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. Arun had a special appearance in Iyarkai (2003), which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil.

He acted in director Ramesh Selvan's Jananam (2004). The film's actress Priyanka Trivedi could not fulfill her scheduled commitments in the film, as she got married in 2003. Critics appreciated Arun Vijay's acting in the movie. In 2006, he has given a matured performance in Azhagai Irukkirai Bayamai Irukkirathu. His next projects was Thavam (2007) and Vedha (2008).

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.

2015–present He starred in Yennai Arindhaal (2015) with actor Ajith Kumar. This was his first film with director Gautham Vasudev Menon. Arun played the role of Victor, an antagonist.

On September 1, 2015, He launched his own production company called In Cinemas Entertainment (ICE). He said that he launched the company to identify and provide an opportunity to ambitious and talented youngsters.

The same year, he debuted in Telugu in the film Bruce Lee - The Fighter (2015) as the lead antagonist. He also made his Kannada debut as the lead antagonist in the movie Chakravyuha in 2016. His next, Kuttram 23 (2017), returning to lead roles, was a success at the box office. His next movie was Chekka Chivantha Vaanam (2018), which was directed by Mani Ratnam with an ensemble cast.

In 2019, he 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. The film was loosely based on various real-life crimes where the suspects are identical twins. Thadams biggest strength was Arun's convincing performance as Kavin and Ezhil. In the action thriller film Saaho, Prabhas was the hero while Arun played a supporting role. 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.

In 2022, he appeared in the Amazon Prime Video film Oh My Dog. The cast included Arun Vijay, his father Vijayakumar, and his son Arnav Vijay. The next was Yaanai an action drama film written and directed by Hari. and later Sinam an investigative whodunit thriller in which Arun Vijay plays a cop. In 2024, A. L. Vijay's Mission: Chapter 1 was released in theatres on January 12. Arun Vijay will be seen in Bala's Vanangaan (2025) next. He did not perform as well as expected at the box office. He played the antagonist in Idli Kadai (2025), and his role in Dhanush's directorial received great praise from fans and critics. Followed by the action thriller film, Retta Thala (2025) where Arun Vijay plays dual roles.

Personal life In 2006, Arun Vijay married Aarathi, daughter of film producer Dr. N. S. Mohan. They have a daughter, Purvi and a son, Arnav Vijay. In 2010, Arun Vijay's 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.

Filmography Films Note: He was credited as Arunkumar (sometimes Arun) from 1995 to 2006. He was credited as Arun Vijay from 2007 onwards. All films are in Tamil, unless otherwise noted. Year Title Role(s) Notes Ref(s)1995 Murai Mappillai Raja Debut film 1996 Priyam Arimath 1997 Kathirunda Kadhal Mayilsamy Ganga Gowri Shiva 1998 Thulli Thirintha Kalam Ashok 2000 Kannaal Pesavaa Arun Anbudan Sathya 2001 Pandavar Bhoomi Tamizharasan 2002 Mutham Bharath 2003 Iyarkai Mukundan Cameo appearance 2004 Jananam Surya 2006 Azhagai Irukkirai Bayamai Irukkirathu Prem 2007 Thavam Subramaniam 2008 Vedha Vijay 2009 Malai Malai Vetrivel 2010 Thunichal Shiva Maanja Velu Velu 2012 Thadaiyara Thaakka Selva Also singer for "Poondamalli Thaan" 2015 Vaa Deal Vetrivel Unreleased Film Yennai Arindhaal Victor Manoharan Bruce Lee: The Fighter Deepak Raj Telugu film 2016 Chakravyuha Omkaar Kannada film 2017 Kuttram 23 ACP Vetrimaaran 2018 Chekka Chivantha Vaanam Thyagarajan "Thyagu" Senapathi 2019 Thadam Ezhil and Kavin 25th Film; Dual role Saaho Vishwank Roy / Iqbal Bilingual film in Telugu and Hindi 2020 Mafia: Chapter 1 Aryan and Dileep "Dexter" Dual role 2022 Oh My Dog Shankar Yaanai Ravichandran Sinam Sub-Inspector Paari Venkat Also playback singer Agni Siragugal Ranjith Unreleased Film 2023 Borrderr Aravind Chandrasekhar Unreleased Film 2024 Mission: Chapter 1 Gunasekhar aka Guna 2025 Vanangaan Koti Idli Kadai Ashwin Retta Thala Malpe Upendra and Kaali Dual role 2026 M Muthaiya direction (Arun Vijay 37) TBA Filming

Web series YearTitleRoleNetwork Notes 2022Tamil RockerzRudhra IPSSonyLIVBased on the infamous torrent site of the same name

As dubbing artist YearTitleRoleDub-over voice for whom Notes 2019AladdinHakimNuman AcarTamil dubbed version

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Film Result 2016 Filmfare Awards South Best Supporting Actor – Tamil Yennai Arindhaal Edison AwardsBest Villain Norway Tamil Film Festival Awards Best Villain South Indian International Movie AwardsBest Actor in a Negative Role 2017 Chakravyuha