Vikram (Tamil: விக்ரம்; born as John Kennedy Vinod Raj) is a National Film Award winning actor, voice actor and a playback singer. He made his debut in the 1990 film En Kadhal Kanmani, which was followed by a series of Tamil and Telugu films and supporting roles in few Malayalam films throughout the early decade. After the critical and commercial success of Sethu (1999) he has been part of numerous other commercially successful films and has earned major critical acclaim for many of his performances. During his years in the Indian film industry, he has won four Filmfare Awards as well as one National Film Award for Best Actor. He is called popularly as "Chiyaan" Vikram by his fans. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by People's University of Milan (Universita Popolare Degli Studi Di Milano) on 29 May 2011.[1][2]
While some of Vikram's best-known films, Dhill (2001), Gemini (2002), Dhool (2003), Saamy (2003), Anniyan (2005) and Kanthaswamy (2009)[3] remain some of Tamil cinema's biggest hits, performances in films like Sethu (1999), Kasi (2002), Pithamagan (2003), Anniyan (2005) and Raavanan (2010) have won him critical acclaims and awards, making Vikram one of the more successful actors of Tamil cinema, both critically and commercially. He established himself as one of leading contemporary actor in the film industry.
Biography
Vikram was born to Vinod Raj and Rajeshwari in Chennai 17 April 1966. His father was from Paramakudi, Ramanathapuram district. Vikram belong's to Devendra kula vellalar caste. Vikram did his schooling at Montfort School, Yercaud. While in school, his love of drama and pursuit of his dream were nurtured. With his parents wanting him to finish college after high school, he graduated in English from Loyola College, Chennai, and followed it up with an M.B.A. Vikram is a close friend of actor "Joseph Vijay".
His father is also a film actor. Vikram and his father starred together for the first time in the movie Kanthaswamy. His mother is a retired sub-collector. Vikram married Shylaja, from Kannur, Kerala, a psychology teacher in 1992. They have two children, a daughter named Akshita and a son named Dhruv.
Film career
Vikram started his career in 1990 with En Kadhal Kanmani. He then moved to Malayalam and acted in few movies in supporting roles. He then starred in the Amitabh Bachan-produced Tamil film Ullasam alongside Ajith Kumar. Still to taste success, he acted in the 1999 movie Sethu directed by first time director Bala which turned out to be a path-breaking effort in story telling and a huge blockbuster, in which his acting won him critical acclaims.[4] After a few films not making much impact, he acted in the 2001 movie Dhill directed by his friend S. Dharani which did well commercially. In 2002, he started with the Malayalam-remake Kasi, which won him the Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award and did well at the box office. He then acted in Gemini produced by AVM Productions which became a blockbuster. Later that year he acted in Samurai and King.
In 2003, Vikram acted in Dhool, again under the direction of Dharani, which was a blockbuster. He then acted in the family drama Kadhal Sadugudu which did not do well in the box office; it was followed by Saamy, directed by Hari, where he played a policeman. The film, which was produced by K. Balachander and featured him opposite Trisha Krishnan, turned out to be another blockbuster in his career. Later that year he starred in Pithamagan, working once again with Bala. He starred as an emotionally challenged grave-digger who teams up with a chatty conman (Surya); his portrayal won him both the Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award and the National Film Award for Best Actor. This film also did well at the box office. In 2004, he acted in Arul directed by Hari, which did match the success of Vikram and Hari's previous collaboration.
In 2004, it was announced that Vikram would act in Anniyan directed by S. Shankar which, released in 2005, was the most expensive film of the time. The film featured him as a character suffering from dissociative identity disorder with three distinct personae: a meek lawyer, a suave fashion model, and a psychotic serial killer. The film was both a critical and commercial success and earned him several accolades. His next film, a family drama Majaa was not well received. Later that year, he announced his next film Bheema which started filming in April 2006, but due to lack of funds the movie was delayed and released only in January 2008. Bheema became a commercial hit at the box office.[3]
In 2008, he began work on Kanthaswamy, directed by Susi Ganesan and produced by Kalaipuli S. Thanu, which released on 21 August 2009. Kanthaswamy featured Vikram as a vigilante dressed as an anthropomorphic rooster. Though the film received mixed reviews, it was a commercial success. Vikram's latest release was Mani Ratnam's bilingual feature which featured him opposite Aishwarya Rai- Raavanan in Tamil and Raavan in Hindi, which released simultaneously in June 2010. He played the role of Dev, the antagonist, in Hindi and the lead role of Veera in the Tamil version. The film was critically panned but Vikram's acting was lauded, hence the Tamil version received a better response than the Hindi version. Vikram has also signed up for Deiva Thirumagal with A. L. Vijay as director while a film with Suseenthiran is in discussion.
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