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Vinay Rai

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Vinay Rai
Born (1979-09-18) 18 September 1979 (age 45)
Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra, India
OccupationActor
Years active2007–present

Vinay Rai (born 18 September 1979) is an Indian actor who primarily appears in Tamil films apart from a few Telugu and Malayalam films. He is best known for his performance in the films Unnale Unnale (2007), Jayamkondaan (2008), Endrendrum Punnagai (2013) and Aranmanai (2014). He turned villain in Thupparivaalan (2017) and has played negative roles in several films including Doctor (2021), Etharkkum Thunindhavan (2022), Oh My Dog (2022) Christopher (2023), Veeran (2023), Gandeevadhari Arjuna (2023) and Hanu-Man (2024)

Early life

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Vinay was born to a Tulu-speaking family,[1] and originally was a commercial model in Mumbai. He played rugby for BRFC and was part of the Indian squad that toured Bahrain in 2001.[2]

Career

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2007–2009

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He debuted as an actor in director Jeeva's Unnale Unnale (2007) co-starring Sadha and Tanisha Mukherjee.[3] The film became a huge success upon release and brought in more acting offers for Vinay. He was supposed to play the lead role in Gandhi Krishna's Ananda Thandavam but was later replaced by newcomer Siddharth Venugopal.[4][5][6]

Since his debut film, he has appeared in a Telugu language film, Vaana (2008), which flopped at the box-office and it was dubbed in Tamil as Gnabagangal Thalattum in 2013.[7] Despite getting offers to act in romance films, Vinay stayed away from them and he stated that he didn't want to be stereotyped as a "chocolate boy".[8] His second Tamil film Jayamkondaan (2008) was commercially and critically successful. Playing the role of an NRI civil engineer who returned to Chennai to set up his own business, his performance fetched positive reviews with a reviewer citing that "Vinay, as the protagonist is very comfortable in his role. He has expressive eyes, emotes well, and makes sure his audience isn't disappointed".[9][10] In 2009, he starred in Saran's Modhi Vilayadu for which he dubbed in his own voice for the first time. The film, starring Kajal Aggarwal and Kalabhavan Mani, opened to mixed reviews from critics and became a box office failure.[11][12] Two of his films including Veelle and Nootruku Nooru were shelved because the production companies went broke.[13][14][15]

2011–2015

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He made a comeback in 2011 with a role in the English film, Dam 999, which had a poor commercial and critical response.[16][17] The next year, Vinay appeared in the action comedy film Mirattal (2012), remake of the Telugu film Dhee (2007). The film, which starred Sharmila Mandre opposite him, got an average response. Vinay's performances received favourable reviews, with a reviewer citing that "Vinay Rai looks comfortable in his role and dishes out a neat performance".[18][19] In 2013, he appeared in P. T. Selvakumar's comedy film Onbadhule Guru. Upon release, the film was panned by the critics but was commercially successful at the box office.[20] The same year, he played a supporting role in the comedy-drama film Endrendrum Punnagai co-starring Jiiva and Trisha. Upon release, the film won positive reviews citing that the film was "worth a watch" and a critic stated, "Vinay performs with no inhibitions in all his portions, be it comedy, dance or the emotional scenes and this film will prove to be a good vehicle for him to reach a larger audience".[21][22] Vinay then acted in the horror comedy film Aranmanai (2014) directed by Sundar C which turned out to be a blockbuster.[23] His next release was Serndhu Polama (2015), co-starring Nyra Banerjee and Preethi Christina Paul, and directed by Malayalam film director Anil. The film, entirely shot in New Zealand, was released to negative reviews.[24]

2017–present

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In 2017, he played a negative character in the crime thriller Thupparivaalan directed by Mysskin. The film opened to positive reviews with a critic from Sify claiming that "Vinay Rai as the ruthless baddie is a revelation".[25] The same year, Vinay played a dual role in the long-delayed film Aayirathil Iruvar again with Saran.[23][8] The film opened to negative reviews with a critic from IndiaGlitz stating, "Vinay who just impressed with his heartless killer in Thupparivaalan can forget Aayirathil Iruvar in a hurry as both his characters are written wafer thin with no underlying subtext for him to score".[26][27]

His next venture Nethraa (2019) was a thriller film directed by A. Venkatesh co-starring Thaman Kumar and Subiksha. The film, which was extensively shot in Canada, opened to negative critical response upon release.[28] In 2021, his films were Iruvar Ullam that was delayed after years and Nelson's action comedy, Doctor opposing the actor Sivakarthikeyan. Vinay Rai played the antagonist.[29] Vinay Rai's performance adds to the tension created by the solid screenwriting and directing.[30] He has also acted as the antagonist in Suriya’s film Etharkkum Thunindhavan directed by Pandiraj.[31] He also playing a bad guy in Arun Vijay’s Oh My Dog produced by Suriya and Jyothika under the banner of 2D Entertainment.[32] Then, Vinay Rai acted as in the horror thriller genre Connect with Nayanthara as doctor husband.[33]

Filmography

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Films

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Key
† Denotes films that have not yet been released
Year Title Role(s) Language Notes Ref.
2007 Unnale Unnale Karthik Tamil Nominated, Vijay Award for Best Debut Actor
2008 Vaana Abhiram Telugu
Jayamkondaan Arjun Sekhar Tamil
2009 Modhi Vilayadu Udhay Vasudev Tamil
2011 Dam 999 Vinay English
2012 Mirattal Babloo Tamil
2013 Onbadhule Guru Billa Tamil
Endrendrum Punnagai Sri Harshan Tamil
2014 Aranmanai Murali Tamil
2015 Serndhu Polama Abhishek Tamil
2017 Thupparivaalan Devil / John Richardson Holcha Tamil Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Tamil [34]
Aayirathil Iruvar Senthattikaalai and Sevathakaalai Tamil Dual role
2019 Nethraa Vikram Tamil
2021 Iruvar Ullam Karthik Natarajan Tamil
Doctor Terry Tamil
2022 Etharkkum Thunindhavan Inbasekharan (Inba) Tamil
Oh My Dog Fernando Tamil
Connect Joseph Benoy Tamil Cameo appearance
2023 Christopher Sitaram Trimurthi Malayalam [35]
Veeran Sarath Tamil [36]
Gandeevadhari Arjuna Ranveer Telugu
2024 Hanu Man Michael / Mega Man Telugu [37]
Eagle Kali Pratap Telugu [38]
Diesel † TBA Tamil Filming
Murder Live † TBA Tamil Filming [39]
Identity † Allen Malayalam Filming [40]

References

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  1. ^ "Profile of Actor Vinay Rai - Tamil Movie Data Base of Tamilstar.com". profile.tamilstar.com.
  2. ^ "Sportsmen who turned towards acting in Kollywood". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  3. ^ "Vinay going places". IndiaGlitz. 17 April 2007. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  4. ^ "Vinay's 'Sivaji – The Boss' connection". behindwoods.com. 14 July 2007. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  5. ^ ""Not just in Reel life, in real life too" - Vinay". behindwoods.com. 19 May 2007. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  6. ^ "Sivaji's assistant starts on his own". behindwoods.com. 27 October 2007. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  7. ^ "Dubbing deluge in Kollywood!". Sify. 11 July 2013. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  8. ^ a b Sudhir Srinivasan (7 February 2015). "Two at a time". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 20 February 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  9. ^ Pavithra Srinivasan (29 August 2008). "Go watch Jayam Kondaan!". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 4 October 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  10. ^ "Kannan to direct Jeeva". IndiaGlitz. 18 February 2010. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  11. ^ Nikhil Raghavan (20 August 2009). "Itsy bitsy: Silent moves". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  12. ^ "MODHI VILAYADU MOVIE REVIEW". behindwoods.com. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  13. ^ "Vinay - too young to be a professor". behindwoods.com. 25 November 2008. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  14. ^ Malathi Rangarajan (4 August 2012). "Mirattal: In jest". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 30 April 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  15. ^ Ashameera Aiyappan (21 September 2017). "Mysskin is probably the Tarantino of Tamil cinema: Thupparivaalan actor Vinay". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  16. ^ Sharadha Srinidhi (9 March 2010). "Vinay: I miss Tamil and Telugu cinema". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  17. ^ "For actor Vinay Rai, a part Dam999 was just an experiment - Entertainment - DNA". Daily News and Analysis. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  18. ^ "MIRATTAL MOVIE REVIEW". behindwoods.com. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  19. ^ "Vinay celebrates birthday on sets - Times Of India". The Times of India. 23 September 2012. Archived from the original on 10 April 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  20. ^ "'Onbathula Guru' - lesson on how not to make a film". Sify. 9 March 2013. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  21. ^ S. Saraswathi (23 December 2013). "Review: Endrendrum Punnagai is worth a watch". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  22. ^ "ENDRENDRUM PUNNAGAI MOVIE REVIEW". behindwoods.com. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  23. ^ a b "Vinay Rai Interview: 'I Had To Wait 11 Years To Shed My Chocolate Boy Image'". silverscreen.in. 22 September 2017. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  24. ^ "Serndhu Polama Movie Review". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  25. ^ "Review : Thupparivaalan review – Solid action thriller (2017) – Sify.com". Sify. 14 September 2017. Archived from the original on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  26. ^ "Aayirathil Iruvar review: An all-round rotten drama". The New Indian Express. 23 September 2017. Archived from the original on 27 September 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  27. ^ "Aayirathil Iruvar review". IndiaGlitz. 23 September 2015. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  28. ^ Navein Darshan (8 February 2019). "Nethraa Review: An awful suspense drama that leaves you cringing". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  29. ^ "Vinay Rai to play the antagonist in Sivakarthikeyan's Doctor". Hindustan Times. 6 December 2019. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  30. ^ Llewellyn, Tom (5 November 2021). "Doctor: Vinay Rai shines as the villain in the hit Tamil action comedy". www.hitc.com. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  31. ^ "Vinay to play villain in Suriya and Pandiraj's film". India Today. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  32. ^ "Oh My Dog: Vinay Rai's role in upcoming Amazon Prime movie revealed". Archived from the original on 1 January 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  33. ^ "Connect Movie Review: Nayanthara shines in technically brilliant horror thriller that is regular fare". Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  34. ^ "Mysskin is probably the Tarantino of Tamil cinema: Thupparivaalan actor Vinay". The Indian Express. 21 September 2017. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  35. ^ "Mammootty starrer 'Christopher' gets a release date!". The Times of India. February 2023. Archived from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  36. ^ "Veeran trailer is here". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 21 May 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  37. ^ "Vinay Rai introduced as Michael from Teja Sajja starrer Hanu Man by Rana Daggubati". The Times of India. 8 June 2022. Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  38. ^ ""Ravi Teja unveils new release date of 'Eagle', says "welfare of our Telugu Cinema"". Hindustan Times. 5 January 2024. Archived from the original on 15 January 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  39. ^ "First Look Out For Vinay Rai-Starrer 'Murder Live' With Sharmila Mandre". www.outlookindia.com/. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  40. ^ "Tovino Thomas and Trisha celebrate Christmas on the sets of 'Identity'". 27 December 2023 – via The Economic Times - The Times of India.
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