Arun Vijay

Arun Vijay (born 19 November 1977), 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.

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).

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.

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). He was 18 years old when he signed to act in Murai Mapillai. This made him one of the youngest actors to debut as a hero in the Tamil film industry.

In 1996, Arun's second film, Priyam, was released. He was seen for two films Kathirunda Kadhal (1997) and Ganga Gowri (1997).