Arvind Swamy (born 18 June 1970[1]) is an Indian actor, film director and entrepreneur known for his work in Tamil cinema and a few Hindi cinema, Telugu cinema and Malayalam cinema.[2][3] He was introduced as an actor by Mani Ratnam with the blockbuster film Thalapathi (1991) and subsequently starred in successful films such as Roja (1992), Bombay (1995), Minsara Kanavu (1997), Thani Oruvan (2015), and Chekka Chivantha Vaanam (2018). He made his debut as a director in the Netflix anthology series Navarasa (2021) in which his segment named Rowthiram (Raudra - Anger).[4] He is a recipient of three Filmfare Award South, one Tamil Nadu State Film Award and two SIIMA Awards.
Arvind Swamy | |
|---|---|
_Press_Meet.jpg) Swamy at the 63rd Filmfare Awards South in 2016 | |
| Born | 18 June 1970 Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Education | Loyola College, Chennai (BS) Wake Forest University (MA) |
| Occupations | |
| Years active |
|
| Spouses | Gayathri Ramamurthy
(m. 1994; div. 2010)Aparna Mukherjee (m. 2012) |
| Children | 2 |
| Father | V. D. Swami |
Swamy also starred in other regional film industries, including Telugu and Malayalam films where he has done films such as Mounam (1995), Daddy (1992) and Devaraagam (1996). He has also appeared in Hindi, making his debut appearance as lead actor in Saat Rang Ke Sapne (1998).[5] He briefly worked as a television presenter as the host of the third season of Neengalum Vellalam Oru Kodi (2012–2016) on Star Vijay.[6]
Early life
editSwamy's parents are industrialist V. D. Swamy and Bharatanatyam dancer Vasantha.[7] Swamy studied at the Sishya School and later in Don Bosco Matriculation Higher Secondary School, P. S. Senior Secondary School and completed his schooling in 1987.[8] He then graduated from Loyola College, Madras in 1990 with a Bachelor of Commerce degree.[9][better source needed] He then went to the United States to do his master's degree in international business[10] from Wake Forest University in North Carolina. [citation needed]
Arvind Swamy wished to be a doctor. In college, he used to be a model for pocket money.[11] In his Loyola Theatre Society, he wasn't well received and was asked to get off stage. Later on Mani Ratnam saw him in an advertisement and called for a meeting. Then Santosh Sivan introduced him to the basics of film-making.[11]
Career
edit1991–1996: Early career and breakthrough
editSwamy made his debut in Mani Ratnam's action drama film, Thalapathi (1991), where he played a young district collector pitted against a don and his own biological brother. Subsequently, Mani Ratnam signed him on to play the lead role in his 1992 political drama film Roja (1992). Roja and Bombay (1995) won awards at the State and National Film Award functions. His performance in Bombay was called "soulful" by Time Magazine.[12] Swamy has won several awards, popular and critical, for his films.[12] He has been described as one of the first few actors in India who is able to achieve pan-Indian appeal. He lends his voice for the Tamil dubbing version for the adult Simba of Disney's The Lion King (1994).[13] His next project was Indira (1995), followed by Telugu Mounam (1995) and Malayalam movie Devaraagam (1996).
1997–2000: Career challenges and sabbatical
editHe starred in Rajiv Menon's Minsaara Kanavu alongside Kajol and Prabhu Deva, which won four National Film Awards besides high box office reviews.[14] During the making of the film, Arvind Swami was critical of Menon changing the script to prioritise Prabhu Deva's role. The film eventually performed well at the box office after a slow start, with Arvind Swami eventually stating he was happy to be a part of the film.[15] His next film, Pudhayal (1997), again saw him portray a role in a film with a cast headlined by another actor, Mammootty. In the film, Arvind wore uncharacteristically loud clothes and portrayed a comedy-oriented role for the first time in his career.[15] Working on the two films meant that he missed out on the opportunity of acting in Mani Ratnam's Iruvar (1997).[15] He appeared in his first straight Hindi film through Priyadarshan's Saat Rang Ke Sapne (1998) produced by Amitabh Bachchan. Co-starring alongside Juhi Chawla, Arvind portrayed the role of a village do-gooder.[15]
In the late 1990s, several of Arvind Swami's films ran into production trouble. Three of his Tamil films, Gandhi Krishna's Engineer, Azhagam Perumal's Mudhal Mudhalaaga and Mahendran's Sasanam were all stalled after completing a few production schedules. The former two, which featured him opposite Hindi actresses Madhuri Dixit and Karisma Kapoor, respectively, eventually did not have a theatrical release. Sasanam, which he worked on without remuneration, had a belated release in 2006. Two prominent Hindi films that he signed during the period, Mahesh Bhatt's venture with Aishwarya Rai, and Anupam Kher's directorial debut film co-starring Amitabh Bachchan, also eventually were dropped.[15] His final two releases before his sabbatical, En Swasa Kaatre (1999) and Raja Ko Rani Se Pyar Ho Gaya (2000) also took several years to complete, with long delays during the production phase.[16]
Swamy eventually stopped acting in films post-2000, after playing a guest role in Mani Ratnam's Alaipayuthey, and opted to concentrate on his business interests. As the director of V D Swamy and Company, he continued to engage in international trade and construction businesses. In 2000, he became the president of InterPro Global, and the chairman and managing director of Prolease India, engaged in transaction processing.[12] He was in charge of operations and technology for the delivery of many processes across different verticals globally. He then founded Talent Maximus in 2005, a company engaged in payroll processing and temporary staffing in India. In 2005, he had an accident and injured his spine. He experienced partial paralysis of his leg and suffered in pain for many years. The treatment took another 4–5 years.[11]
2013–present: Back to films
editAfter his successful treatment, Mani Ratnam called him once more to play a role in one of his films, Kadal (2013)[13] for which Swamy dropped 15 kilograms.[17] In 2013, he provided the voice-over for Santhosh Sivan's film Ceylon.[18]
In 2015, he plays an iconic negative role of Sidharth Abhimanyu in Thani Oruvan, for which he was highly praised and received positive reviews and many awards for his acting.[19][20]
In 2016, he reprised the same role in Telugu in the film Dhruva with Ram Charan, a remake of Thani Oruvan, for which he got a lot of appreciation from the Telugu audience.[21][22] Later the same year, he appeared in a Hindi film, Dear Dad.[23] The game show Neengalum Vellalam Oru Kodi recruited Swamy for its third season, which started airing on 30 May 2016.[24]
In 2017, he did the title role of Bogan, co starring Jayam Ravi, for which he again got an outstanding response from the critics and the audience.[25]
In 2018, he acted in Bhaskar Oru Rascal. Arvind Swamy does a neat job without imitating what Mammootty did in the original.[26] The film is followed by Chekka Chivantha Vaanam (2018). The film was released to positive reviews which also got him the Filmfare Award.[27]
In 2021, he acted in A. L. Vijay's directorial biographical-political drama Thalaivii opposite Kangana Ranaut. He portrayed the character of actor-politician M. G. Ramachandran in the film. Arvind Swami returns to Malayalam cinema after 25 years with Ottu (2022).[28]
In the late 2010s, several of Arvind Swamy's films were delayed or shelved as a result of production trouble and the actor's insistence to have his salary settled. Production on Sathuranga Vettai 2 began in July 2016, but remains unreleased following a payment dispute with the film's producer Manobala.[29] Vanangamudi was conceptualised by director Selva in 2014, with the shoot taking place in a slow manner over the course of nine years.[30] Likewise, Naragasooran and Kallapart began their shoot in mid-2017 and mid-2018 respectively, but neither film has had a theatrical release.[31][32] Other projects such as the Hindi-Tamil bilingual remake of Marathi film Kaksparsh and Santhosh Jayakumar's Pulanaivu were shelved despite entering production.[33][34]
Personal life
editSwamy married Gayathri Ramamurthy[35] in June 1994 and has one daughter Adhira, born in 1996, and a son Rudra, born in 2000.[36][37] The couple lived separately for seven years until 2010, when they filed for divorce.[35][38] He was granted the custody of his children.[39] He married Aparna Mukerjee in 2012.[40][36]
Filmography
editAs an actor
editFilms
edit| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| Year | Film | Role | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Thalapathi | Arjun | Tamil | credited as Arvind |
| 1992 | Roja | Rishi Kumar | Nominated–Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil | |
| Daddy | Anand | Malayalam | ||
| 1993 | Marupadiyum | Gowri Shankar | Tamil | credited as Arvind |
| Thalattu | Kuzhanthai | credited as Arvind | ||
| 1994 | Paasamalargal | Raj | ||
| Duet | Himself | Guest appearance | ||
| 1995 | Bombay | Shekhar Narayanan Pillai | Nominated–Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil | |
| Indira | Thiyagu | |||
| Mounam | Kiran | Telugu | ||
| 1996 | Devaraagam | Vishnu | Malayalam | |
| 1997 | Minsara Kanavu | Thomas Thangadurai | Tamil | |
| Pudhayal | Kodiesvaran | |||
| 1998 | Saat Rang Ke Sapne | Mahipal Sharma | Hindi | |
| 1999 | En Swasa Kaatre | Arun Raj | Tamil | |
| 2000 | Alaipayuthey | Ram | Guest appearance | |
| Raja Ko Rani Se Pyar Ho Gaya | Mohit Kumar | Hindi | release was delayed by three years | |
| 2006 | Sasanam | Muthiah | Tamil | The film began production in the mid-1990s but was only released in 2006 due to production trouble |
| 2013 | Kadal | Sam Fernando | ||
| 2015 | Thani Oruvan | Dr. Siddharth Abhimanyu/ Pazhani Sengalvarayan | Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Villain Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Tamil Ananda Vikatan Cinema Award for Best Villain — Male IIFA Utsavam Award for Best Performance in Negative Role | |
| 2016 | Dear Dad | Nitin Swamynathan | Hindi | |
| Dhruva | Dr. Siddharth Abhimanyu/ Venkanna Chengalarayudu | Telugu | Nominated–SIIMA Award for Best Actor in a Negative Role – Telugu Nominated–Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Telugu | |
| 2017 | Bogan | Aadhitya Maravarman (Bogan) | Tamil | |
| 2018 | Bhaskar Oru Rascal | Bhaskar | ||
| Chekka Chivantha Vaanam | Varadarajan (Varadan) Senapathi | Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor – Tamil Nominated–Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil | ||
| 2021 | Thalaivii | M. G. Ramachandran (M.G.R.) | Tamil Hindi |
Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor – Tamil SIIMA Award For Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Tamil |
| 2022 | Ottu | David | Malayalam | |
| Rendangam | Tamil | |||
| 2023 | Custody | Rajashekhar (Raazu) | Tamil Telugu |
|
| 2024 | Singapore Saloon | Himself | Tamil | Cameo appearance[41] |
| Meiyazhagan | Arunmozhi Varman "Arul" | |||
| TBA | Gandhi Talks † | Boseman | Silent | Delayed |
Web series
edit| † | Denotes series that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role(s) | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Navarasa | Vishnu | 1 episode as actor, 1 episode as director (debut) | [42][43] |
| 2024 | IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack | DRS | [44] |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role(s) | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Neengalum Vellalam Oru Kodi | Host |
As narrator
edit| Year | Film | Role | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Ceylon | Narrator | Tamil English |
Narrator |
| 2016 | Uriyadi | Narrator | Tamil | Narrator |
As dubbing artist
edit| Title | Actor | Character | Dub Language | Original Language | Original Year Release | Dub Year Release | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pudhiya Mugam | Suresh Chandra Menon | Major Shiva/Raja | Tamil | 1993 | |||
| The Lion King | Matthew Broderick (voice) | Simba | Tamil | English | 1994 | 1994 | |
| Dil Se.. | Shah Rukh Khan | Amarkant Varma (Amar) | Tamil | Hindi | 1998 | 1998 | Dubbed Tamil film title: Uyire... |
| The Lion King | Chiwetel Ejiofor (voice) | Scar | Tamil | English | 2019 | 2019 | |
| Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy | Chiranjeevi | Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy | Tamil | Telugu | 2019 | 2019 |
As playback singer
editReferences
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- ^ "The Arvind Swami interview: Nationalism, GST, demonetisation and more". Thenewsminute.com. 4 November 2017. Archived from the original on 22 November 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
- ^ "Mahesh Manjrekar to remake Kaksparsh in Hindi and Tamil with Arvind Swamy and Tisca Chopra". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 10 August 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- ^ "Navarasa movie review: Netflix delivers a potpourri of greats and duds, Arvind Swami stands out". Hindustan Times. 6 August 2021. Archived from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ "Arvind Swamy Goes To Bollywood Again". Entertainment.oneindia.in. 27 November 2013. Archived from the original on 29 November 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
- ^ "Neengalum Vellalam Oru Kodi Season 3 On Vijay TV From 30 May 2016". Indiantvinfo.com. 17 May 2016. Archived from the original on 29 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ Bhattacharya, Roshmila (1 August 2015). "Arvind Swamy: I found stardom stifling". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 2 September 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
- ^ "Exclusive biography of #ArvindSwamy and on his life". FilmiBeat.xom. Archived from the original on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ "Profile of Actor Arvind Swamy - Tamil Movie Data Base of Tamilstar.com". tamilstar.net. Archived from the original on 30 August 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
- ^ Joshi, Namrata (25 April 2016). "The return journey". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
- ^ a b c Kamath, Sudhish (31 January 2013). "Return of the heartthrob". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 8 February 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
- ^ a b c "An Actor, and a businessman". The Times of India. 14 November 2002. Archived from the original on 9 December 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
- ^ a b "Welcome moviemitra.com". Moviemitra.com. Archived from the original on 10 November 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
- ^ "Southern Spice: A chat with Arvind Swamy". Gulf News. 30 January 2013. Archived from the original on 30 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
- ^ a b c d e "South Special". Archived from the original on 3 May 1999.
- ^ "Rediff on the NeT, Movies: Gossip from the southern film industry". Archived from the original on 12 April 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
- ^ Joshi, Namrata (25 April 2016). "The return journey". Thehindu.com. Archived from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ "Arvind Swami in Santosh Sivan's 'Ceylon'". The Times of India. 4 June 2013. Archived from the original on 21 June 2013.
- ^ subramanian, anupama (30 August 2015). "Movie review 'Thani Oruvan': A thriller that hardly misses a note". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 30 August 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
- ^ "Nayanthara and Arvind Swami win awards at CIFF". Only Kollywood. 14 January 2016. Archived from the original on 2 September 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
- ^ "Dhruva movie review: Ram Charan Teja, Arvind Swami steal the show". Indianexoress.com. 9 December 2016. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
- ^ "Dhruva review. Dhruva Telugu movie review, story, rating". IndiaGlitz.com. Archived from the original on 30 August 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
- ^ Dear Dad movie review: Arvind Swamy's father son drama should not be missed! – Bollywood News & Gossip, Movie Reviews, Trailers & Videos at Archived 6 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Bollywoodlife.com (13 May 2016). Retrieved 26 August 2019.
- ^ "Vijay TV set to launch NVOK Season 3 with Aravind Swamy from 30th May". Medianews4u.com. 25 May 2016. Archived from the original on 30 August 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
- ^ Davis, Maggie (3 February 2017). "Jayam Ravi & Arvind Swamy's flawless performance leaves critics impressed!". India.com. Archived from the original on 30 August 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
- ^ Baskar Oru Rascal (aka) Bhaskar Oru Rascal review Archived 6 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Behindwoods.com. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
- ^ Purushothaman, Kirubhakar (27 September 2018) Chekka Chivantha Vaanam Review: Mani Ratnam demolishes gangster cinema – Movies News Archived 6 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine. India Today. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
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- ^ "Sourthern superstar Arvind Swamy to make a comeback to Bollywood!". 15 January 2014. Archived from the original on 12 April 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
- ^ a b "Aravind Swamy's 'happy' divorce". Sify. Archived from the original on 3 December 2010. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
- ^ a b "Arvind Swamy opens up on his comeback to cinema". The Hans India. 26 April 2016. Archived from the original on 6 September 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ "Arvind Swamy to pay wife Rs 75L divorce settlement". The Times of India. 2 December 2010. Archived from the original on 6 September 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ "Arvind Swamy, wife file for divorce". The New Indian Express. 16 May 2012. Archived from the original on 6 September 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ "Arvind Swamy to pay wife Rs 75 divorce settlement". The Times of India. TNN. 2 December 2010. Archived from the original on 4 December 2010. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
- ^ "Happy Birthday Arvind Swamy: Five unknown facts about the megastar". The Times of India. 18 June 2021. Archived from the original on 29 August 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ "'Singapore Saloon' social media review: The RJ Balaji starrer is a fun blaster, say Netizens". The Times of India. 25 January 2024. Archived from the original on 29 January 2024. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
- ^ "Suriya, Parvathy, Nithya and Vijay Sethupathi among cast for Netflix's 'Navarasa'". The News Minute. 28 October 2020. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
- ^ "Fahadh Faasil, Suriya likely to make OTT debut with Mani Ratnam's upcoming web series". Hindustan Times. 17 July 2020. Archived from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
- ^ "IC 814 The Kandahar Hijack teaser: Vijay Varma, Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur lead Netflix series on harrowing incident". The Indian Express. 3 August 2024.
External links
edit- Arvind Swamy at IMDb