Raja (born 9 April 1971), known professionally as Vignesh, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema.
Career
Vignesh was selected to play the debut lead role in Balu Mahendra's Vanna Vanna Pookkal (1992), but he was removed from the film after working on it for seven days and was replaced by Prashanth. He made his acting debut in 1992 with the village drama film Chinna Thayee. In 1993, he acted in Amma Ponnu, Bharathiraja's Kizhakku Cheemayile and Kathir's Uzhavan. In 1995, Vignesh appeared in six films. He starred in Chellakannu, which told the tragic story of a young couple caught between feuding families, and the film performed well and ran for over one hundred days at the box office. The film had featured him alongside actress Yuvarani, as did Pasumpon, while Nadodi Mannan became a box office failure.
In the mid of 1990s, Vignesh's housemate Bala, an erstwhile assistant of Balu Mahendra wrote the script of the film Sethu, then titled Akhilan, and offered him the film's lead role. The film was shelved due to financial constraints. In 1997, director Bala restarted the project and Vignesh, who was busy with other commitments, was replaced by Vikram. In 1998, Vignesh played the lead role in J. Suresh's Velai and played a cheat in Ravichandran's Kannedhirey Thondrinal. The following years, Vignesh played the lead role in low-budget films Pudhu Kudithanam (1999) and Nee Enthan Vaanam (2000), and played supporting roles in Suyamvaram (1999) and Appu (2000).
After a hiatus of 3 years, Vignesh made a comeback with Soori (2003). For Soori, Vignesh had to tonsure his head for 70 times. His performance received mixed reviews with critics claiming that Vignesh "tends to go slightly overboard, especially when he howls aloud in agony" and "his cries seem over the top". 2003 saw the release of his long-delayed films Ennai Thalatta Varuvala and Vani Mahal. The three films went unnoticed at box office, post-release Vignesh signed two projects titled "Ilango" and "Parithi" with both failing to proceed after launch. In 2005, Vignesh appeared in two low-budget films: Ulla Kadathal and Aadhikkam. Vignesh then produced and acted in the gangster film Aacharya (2006) and a critic stated, "for Vignesh, it is a comeback vehicle and he has done his best". He later starred as a leading actor such as Malarinum Melliya (2008), Kudiyarasu (2009) and Eesa (2009). He co-starring with Sathyaraj in Gowravargal (2010).
In 2020, he appeared in the serial with Poove Unakkaga broadcast by Sun TV. In 2021, he was seen integral role in the film Anandham Vilayadum Veedu and the serial Vaidhegi Kaathirundhaal. In 2022, the film Paasakaara Paya was released. In 2023, he was cast in Chandramukhi 2 directed by P. Vasu.
Filmography
All films are in Tamil, unless otherwise noted.
Year Film Role Notes 1992 Chinna Thayee Ponrasu Annai Vayal Sathyam's brother 1993 Amma Ponnu Anand Kizhakku Cheemayile Seenu Uzhavan Sundaram's brother 1995 Manathile Oru Paattu Anand Muthukulikka Vaariyala Chellappa Pasumpon Raasa Chellakannu Chellakannu Nadodi Mannan Ramesh Mannukku Mariyadhai Pandian Chithirai Thiruvizha Selvaa 1996 Take It Easy Urvashi Subramani Naalamkettile Nalla Thampimar Robert Malayalam film Vetri Mugam Aravind 1997 Pongalo Pongal Subramani Kaadhali Gopal Kadhal Palli Balu Raman Abdullah Raman 1998 Velai Ganesh Kannedhirey Thondrinal Sakthi 1999 Suyamvaram Potential groom Pudhu Kudithanam Ashok 2000 Appu Mano Nee Enthan Vaanam Sathya Ninaivellam Nee Karthik 2003 Ennai Thalatta Varuvala Santhosh Soori Suriya Vani Mahal Arul 2005 Ulla Kadathal Sakthi Aadhikkam Guru 2006 Aacharya Yadhunandhan (Saamy) Also producer 2008 Malarinum Melliya Elango 2009 Kudiyarasu Kannan Eesa Eesa 2010 Gowravargal Ganesan 2013 Bhuvanakkadu Mani Bharathi 2016 Avan Aval Venkatakrishnan Also producer 2018 Aaruthra Nambi 2021 Anandham Vilayadum Veedu Pazhanisamy 2022 Paasakaara Paya Guna 2023 Chandramukhi 2 Ranganayagi's brother 2024 Light House 2025 Red Flower Vicky and Michael
Television Year Title Role Channel 2011 Appanum Aathalum Kalaignar TV2020–2021 Poove Unakkaga Sakthivel Sun TV2020 Roja 2021 Velammal Raja Raghupathi Star Vijay2021–2022 Vaidhegi Kaathirundhaal Rajarathinam2022 Sathya 2 Special Appearance Zee Tamil2022–2023 Vidhya No.1 Mayandi2023–2024 Meena Chidambaram Sun TV2024 Sandhya Raagam Father Anthony Zee Tamil2026 Kanaa Kandenadi Uthaman Star Vijay
References