Background

Vijay Sethupathi was born January 16, 1978 in Rajapalayam, Tamil Nadu, India, the son of Kalimuthu and Saraswathi. Sethupathi has three siblings, one elder brother, one younger brother and one younger sister. He was raised in Rajapalayam which is also in Tamil Nadu. After a few years, he and his family moved to Ennore, Chennai.

Education

In Ennore, Chennai, Sethupathi attended the MGR Higher Secondary School in Kodambakkam and later shifted to the Little Angels Mat HR Sec School. When it came to academics, according to Sethupathi himself he was a “below-average student right from school” and was neither interested in sports nor extra-curricular activities.

Sethupathi did a series of odd jobs for pocket money: salesman at a retail store, cashier at a fast food joint and a phone booth operator. He graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the Dhanraj Baid Jain College (an affiliate of the University of Madras) in Thoraipakam.

Career

Sethupathi started his acting career by appearing in smaller roles, mostly as the friend of the lead character. While the actor did not find any major role in movies, he simultaneously worked in TV series like Penn and in short films. He got his big break in 2009 when he collaborated with director Suseenthiram in his sports drama film Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu. Impressed by Vijay performances in films, Suseenthiran recommended him to director Seenu Ramasamy for his film, Thenmerku Paruvakaatru and he got his maiden lead role.

The year 2012 marked a turning point in Sethupathi's career; he had three releases in the year and all of them were critically and commercially successful. In his first film of the year, Sundarapandian, he played the negative role. The movie directed by S.R. Prabhakaran was a commercial success and received positive reviews. He next played the lead in Karthik Subbaraj's directorial debut Pizza. The movie co-starring Remya Nambeesan released in October 2012 and it emerged as a major critical and commercial success. For his last movie of the year, the actor collaborated with the debutant director Balaji Tharaneetharan for the comedy entertainer Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom. The movie, which also stars Gayathrie Shankar as the female lead had Vijay playing the role of a young man, Prem who sustains short-term memory loss just two days before his marriage. His performance in the movie was highly praised by the critics and the movie too was critically acclaimed.

In 2013, the actor starred in Nalan Kumarswamy's crime comedy film Soodhu Kavvum, which is based on the concept of how silly talks has engulfed the day-to-today lives of the people in the modern society was received with positive reviews and it emerged to be a massive commercial hit.

He continued his good run at the box office and continued to deliver stellar performances in 2015. His first release was the political thriller Purampokku Engira Pohuvudamai directed by S.P. Jananathan. The film co-starring Arya, Shaam, and Karthika Nair revolves around the relevance of capital punishment in a democratic society. Upon release, the film got positive reviews and Vijay Sethupathi's performance in the film was appreciated by the critics as well as the audience. Later in July 2015, the actor appeared in Biju Viswanath's critically acclaimed film Orange Mittai. The film also starring Ramesh Thilak and Aashritha premiered at the 20th Busan International Film Festival and it emerged to be a commercial hit.

After the success of Sethupathi (2016), the actor teamed up with director Nalan Kumarasamy for the Tamil romantic comedy-drama Kadhalum Kadandhu Pogum, which was the official remake of the Korean film My Dear Desperado. The film co-starring Madonna Sebastian opened to wide positive critical reviews and emerged to be the highest grossing film in Chennai in its opening weekend. Later in the year, the actor delivered yet another stellar performance in the critically acclaimed satirical film Aandavan Kattalai co-starring Ritika Singh, Pooja Devariya and Nassar.

By his own standards, Sethupathi had quite a subdued year in 2017. Amongst his other release of the year, Vikram Vedha was well received by both the audience and the critics.

The year 2018 saw the actor in a diverse range of roles in several well-received movies. Of these, his turn as a shrewd police officer named Rasool in Mani Ratnam's Chekka Chivantha Vaanam, photographer Ram in C. Prem Kumar's 96 and ageing thespian Ayya Aadhimoolam in Balaji Tharaneetharan's Seethakaathi received much appreciation from the critics and the audience alike. The Rajinikanth starrer Petta (2019), the ensemble thriller Super Deluxe (2019), the Telugu historical war film Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy (2019) and the action thriller Sindhubaadh (2019).

Achievements

• Vijay Sethupathi is known today as a prominent actor who has made numerous appearances in Bollywood movies but is perhaps best known for his iconic roles in the Tamil film industry. He is currently one of the top actors in the Tamil film industry. His passion and hard work in his acting career made him into the star he is today, which, along with his natural acting skills has gained him a huge fan base.

Works

More photos

• movie

  • Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu

    (Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu is a 2009 Indian Tamil drama film wr...)

    2009
  • Pudhupettai

    (Pudhupettai is a 2006 Indian Tamil gangster film written ...)

    2005
  • Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom

    (Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom, also known as NKPK, is a...)

    2012
  • Puriyatha Puthir

    (Puriyatha Puthir is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language psycholo...)

    2017
  • Pizza

    (The story is about a pizza delivery boy Michael (Sethupat...)

    2012
  • Traffic Ramasamy

    (Ramasamy, a senior citizen and social activist, opposes t...)

    2018
  • Seethakaathi

    (Seethakaathi is a 2018 Tamil language art drama film writ...)

    2018
  • Purampokku Engira Podhuvudamai

    (Purampokku Engira Podhuvudamai or simply Purampokku is a ...)

    2015
  • Kadhalum Kadandhu Pogum

    (Kadhalum Kadandhu Pogum is a 2016 Indian Tamil language r...)

    2016
  • Imaikkaa Nodigal

    (A suave CBI officer (Nayanthara), is in search of a seria...)

    2018
  • Naan Mahaan Alla

    (Naan Mahaan Alla is a 2010 Indian Tamil action thriller f...)

    2010
  • Jigarthanda

    (A budding director endeavors to research a merciless gang...)

    2014
  • Soodhu Kavvum

    (Soodhu Kavum is a 2013 Tamil language black comedy crime ...)

    2013
  • Thenmerkku Paruvakaatru

    (Murugan is a goat shepherd with a loving mother Veerayi. ...)

    2010
  • M.Kumaran S/O Mahalakshmi

    (M. Kumaran Son of Mahalakshmi is a 2004 Tamil family dram...)

    2004

Religion

Sethupathi is affiliated with Hinduism.

Personality

Sethupathi's favourite actors are Rajinikanth and Kamal Hassan.

Physical Characteristics: Sethupathi's height is 5' 9'' (175 cm) and weighs around 143 lbs (65 kg). His hair and eyes' colour is dark brown.

Quotes from others about the person

• Indian Express wrote: "Vijay Sethupathi has become a darling of the masses. Scene after Scene, the audience hoots and cheers for him in unison."

Interests

• singing, writing

Connections

In 2003, Sethupathi married his girlfriend, Jessie, whom he had met online. The couple has two children, a son named Surya and a daughter named Shreeja.

Father:

Kalimuthu

Mother:

Saraswathi

Spouse:

Jessie Sethupathi

Son:

Surya Sethupathi

Daughter:

Shreeja Sethupathi

colleague:

Gayathrie Shankar

colleague:

Seenu Ramasamy

colleague:

S.R. Prabhakaran

colleague:

Remya Nambeesan

colleague:

Karthika Nair

colleague:

Nalan Kumarasamy

colleague:

Madonna Sebastian

colleague:

Ritika Singh

colleague:

Pooja Devariya