BIOGRAPHY
Vijay Antony
Born : 24 JULY 1975
Occupation : Music Director, Singer, Lyricst, Actor, Producer & Editor
Vijay Antony is an Indian music composer, playback singer, actor and
producer working in the Tamil and Telugu film industries. He made
his debuts as music director in 2005 and as an lead actor in 2012.
He is the first Indian to win the 2009 Cannes Golden Lion for NakkaMukka
advertising film (The Times of India) in the Best Music category.
NakkaMukka propelled his fame and the song was played in the 2011
Cricket World Cup.
Early Days and Background
Vijay Antony was born in Nagercoil. He lost his father when he was
7 years old and his sister was just 5 years. They were pushed into
difficult days and his mother took up a government job to educate
the children and support the family. The three of them were isolated
and struggled to take their lives forward. But sacrifices, patience
and hardwork rewarded them with success gradually. Vijay is also the
great grandson of Samuel Vedanayagam Pillai (1826–1889), also known
as MayavaramVedanayagam Pillai, who was an Indian civil servant. Tamil
poet, novelist and social worker who is remembered for the authorship
of PrathapaMudaliarCharithram, recognized as the "first modern Tamil
novel". The novel reflects Vedanayagam's own ideals of women's liberation
and education. His contribution to carnatic music is immense.
Vijay had to reason with life's challenging
situations at an early age leading to his reticent manner. But within
him there was a strong determination to work against odds and take
up challenges in each phase of his life. After finishing BSc in Physics
from St Xavier's college in Trichy, Vijay joined Visual Communications
course at Loyola. Moving from his native city to a metro, having studied
in tamil medium schools, he was getting into english medium of education
at Loyola. He was staying at the college hostel and along with this
course, took up part time job, training in sound engineering with
a studio in Kodambakkam. His education with Loyola was sponsored by
a Pries tRev Fr. Ignacimuthu. Walking from college located at Nungambakam
to the studio at Kodambakkam after college sessions and getting back
to the hostel late nights, with food getting over in the college mess
only added to his perseverance. He grew up listening to and inspired
by the songs and music of Maestro Illayaraja, which was also his solace
when he faced poverty and fought hard not to fall into depression.
So his move to learn sound engineering was the first step to get an
entry into the film industry. Vijay worked with sound engineer Emmy
& Selvakumar. He worked on jingles for ad films and in 2005 Vijay
established himself as a music director, and in 2012 as actor and
producer.
Personal Life
Vijay married Fatima in 2006. He lives with his wife, two daughters,
mother and mother-in-law in Chennai. Fatima has been the supportive
and confident wife, for the ongoing success of Vijay's career. She
has been producing Vijay's movies and takes an active role in managing
his day to day activities. Vijay stays fit with regular workouts and
follows a strict diet. Active in social media, he enjoys interacting
with his fans and takes note of their inputs. He engages with personal
interest in selecting scripts and works closely with the teams to
make each movie a unique experience for the people. He has a long
journey ahead and has put in tremendous thought and hard work to make
each movie memorable.
