A.L. Vijay
Biography
A. L. Vijay, credited by his mononym Vijay, is an Indian film director who predominantly works in the Tamil film industry. He is a disciple of the National Award-winning film director, producer, and screenwriter Priyadarshan.
Vijay has directed many films, out of which the notable ones are Kireedam, Deiva Thirumagal, Thaandavam, and the critically acclaimed Madrasapattinam.
Director A. L. Vijay announced his relationship with Amala Paul in 2014, and the two got engaged in the same year in Kochi. The couple got married on 12 June 2014 in Chennai. In 2016, Amala and Vijay decided to separate and filed for a divorce.
A. L. Vijay first began his career as an advertisement filmmaker under his banner Venus Ad Films. He was a very successful filmmaker and completed more than 100 ad films. His State Bank of India commercial won CNBC`s Best Corporate Advertisement Award in 2009.
The year 2003 marked the beginning of A. L Vijay`s career in feature films, started off as him working as an assistant director with Priyadarshan. Vijay made his directorial debut with the 2007 movie Kireedam, a remake of the 1989 film of the same name directed by Sibi Malayil.
Kireedam starred Ajith Kumar in the lead role along with Trisha Krishnan, Rajkiran, Saranya, and Vivek. The cinematographer was Tirru and the music was composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar.
The film opened to positive reviews and Vijay was appreciated by critics for making his first directorial venture a realistic film with a strong storyline. The movie was profitable for Vijay at the box office.
Idhu Enna Maayam, Vijay`s 2015 Tamil romantic comedy film, was produced by R. Sarathkumar - the Supreme Star of Tamil cinema, his wife actress Raadhika Sarathkumar, and Listin Stephen.
With Vikram Prabhu and Keerthy Suresh featuring as leads in the movie, the director once again collaborated with G. V. Prakash Kumar to compose music. The film gained average reviews from critics with not much new to look forward to except good humor.
The Madrasapattinam fame Vijay, after directing a series of movies, went on to co-produce the 2015 thriller movie Oru Naal Iravil with A. L. Azhagappan and Sam Paul. This film was a remake of Joy Mathew`s successful Malayalam film Shutter.
Vijay`s 2016 directorial venture includes the trilingual movie titled Devi in Tamil, Abhinetri in Telugu, and Tutak Tutak Tutiya in Hindi. All three versions have Prabhu Deva, Tamannaah, and Sonu Sood in lead roles.
The horror-comedy film revolves around an aged actress who can go up to any extent to stay popular. Upon release, the film got average reviews but performed well commercially; it grossed 106.5 crore INR at the box office.
His 2017 release includes Vanamagan, an action-adventure starring Jayam Ravi and Sayyeshaa Saigal. His other projects include Diya (2018), Kanam (2018), Lakshmi (2018), Watchman (2019), Devi 2 (2019), Abhinetri 2 (2019), Kutti Story (2021) and Thalaivi (2021).
