He is, arguably, the most happening actor in Tamil cinema now. But, he is not your conventional hero, with all brawn and drop-dead gorgeous looks and a macho air about him. Nevertheless, when you come face to face with Vijaya Gurunatha Sethupathi, or Vijay Sethupathi as the film industry knows him, his brooding looks and piercing eyes convey that there is a actor of substance bubbling inside him.
Vijay did not have a life-on-a-platter beginning. He was born in Rajapalayam and grew up in Chennai. Vijay meddled in different jobs to support his family, before he was attracted by a Koothu-P-Pattarai (a performing arts group in Chennai) announcement. He joined them as an accountant but was constantly drawn towards those who were into acting and other performing arts. During a chance encounter with ace filmmaker Balu Mahendra, the director’s remark that Vijay had a photogenic face, motivated him to pursue a career in acting.
After doing several supporting roles, which included significant ones in director Suseenthiran’s Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu and Naan Mahaan Alla, the director recommended Vijay to Seenu Ramasamy who was casting for Thenmerku Paruvakaatru. The film went on to win three National Awards, besides Filmfare and Vijay TV awards. Vijay himself may not have won any award for this film, but his portrayal of Murugaiyan, a shepherd, did not go unnoticed in the film industry.
“I credit both Suseenthiran, who saw promise in my acting, and Seenu Ramasamy, who extracted the performance out of me, for giving me a solid footing in this industry,” says Vijay. “Thereafter, films like Pizza and Naduvila Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom, gave me good roles under talented directors like Kartik Subburaj and Balaji Tharaneetharan.”
Many films happened in Vijay’s career, some good, some bad and some passable. This, he averred, was quite natural in an actor’s career as he moves along in an industry fraught with risks and failures. In every one of his films, he has managed to bring an individuality to the character he essays. In Pizza, Vijay plays a pizza delivery boy who lands himself in a mysterious predicament involving a customer. In NKPK, Vijay plays a young man who forgets a full year of his life, a couple of days before his wedding. In director Nalan Kumarasamy’s Soodhu Kaavum, he plays a middle-aged man who does low-profile kidnappings for a living. In Vikram Vedha, Vijay is teamed with another talented star, Madhavan. He plays a notorious north Chennai don to Madhavan’s earnest police officer. Vikram Vedha, directed by Pushkar-Gayathri, was critically acclaimed and was a money-spinner at the box office.
“I have never chosen a film only because of the character I play or if I think it should be different from the earlier film. I look at the overall package which includes the script and team. If I believe in the story and I feel I can do justice to the character, I agree to act in the film. Probably that’s how Karuppan came about,” says the 39-year-old actor, known for his brooding looks and piercing eyes.
The recently-released Karuppan is an action thriller directed by R. Pannerselvam and Vijay is teamed with Bobby Simha, his co-actor from Pizza. Vijay Sethupathi plays Karuppan, a bull tamer in the film which has jallikattu as the theme.
“My forthcoming film is director Arumuga Kumar’s Oru Nalla Naal Paathu Solren in which I play a tribal leader. Gautham Karthik and Niharika are my co-stars. This film has been completed and scheduled as my next release. The romantic film titled 96 with Trisha is underway. I play a travel photographer in this film directed by C. Premkumar who was the cinematographer in Naduvila Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom,” he says.
