Vishal (actor)

Vishal
Born	Vishal Krishna Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Nationality	Indian
Ethnicity	Telugu
Occupation	Actor, Playback Singer, Producer
Years active	2004–present
Parents	G. K. Reddy Janaki Devi Reddy

Vishal Krishna Reddy , known by his stage name Vishal, is an Indian film actor who appears in Tamil cinema. Often starring in his home productions, Vishal became an actor after a stint as an assistant director in films.

He played his first role in the romantic thriller Chellamae, before going on to secure a run of three consecutive successes with roles as action hero in the 2005 film, Sandakozhi, and with Thimiru in 2006.^[1] After appearing in two further successful films thamirabarani and malaikottai, the failure of his hyped home production, Sathyam halted his streak. Following further commercial failure thoranai and average grosser theeratha vilayattu pillai, he enjoyed success again with Avan Ivan (2011), which became a significant film in his career.

Personal life

Vishal Krishna Reddy was born to G. K. Reddy and Janaki Devi. His mother tongue is Telugu.^{[citation needed]} His father was a film producer for Telugu and Tamil films and his family settled in Chennai. His elder brother, Vikram Krishna has produced several of Vishal's films and had previously appeared as an actor in small budget films under the screen name of Ajay. vishal's brother is married to Sriya Reddy, who played the love interest of Vishal in his home production, Vishal has also been an assistant director for shankarThimiru.^[2] Vishal also has a younger sister, Aishwarya, who is pursuing a degree at college. Vishal obtained his secondary education from Don Bosco Matriculation Higher Secondary School before securing a degree in visual communications from Loyola College, Chennai.^[3]

Career

After completing his degree in Visual Communication at Loyola College, Vishal was able to secure an apprenticeship with noted film-maker Ram Gopal Varma but his parents refused and wanted him to work in South Indian films. Vishal subsequently went on to assist actor-director Arjun in his venture Vedham.^[4] Whilst on the sets of Arjun film, a producer spotted Vishal on the sets and signed him to appear in Gandhi Krishna's directorial debut, Chellamae.^[5] Accepting the role, Vishal prepared by joining Koothu-P-Pattarai to hone his acting skills and played the protagonist role of Raghunandan whose wife, played by Reemma Sen is kidnapped by her childhood friend, portrayed by Bharath.^[5] The film opened to rave reviews and subsequently went on to become a commercial success, but Vishal's performance was overshadowed by Reemma Sen's and Bharath's with a critic claiming his performance is "apt" but "there was plenty left to hone".^[6][7] His next film was Sandakozhi with Linguswamy who had previously worked with his father's production house as an assistant director. The action film co-starring Meera Jasmine and Rajkiran, upon release became a blockbuster and its Telugu dubbing also created an impact.^[8] The film also gained critical acclaim and Vishal was described to have "improved from his Chellamay days" and "clicked as an action hero".^[9] The success of Sandakozhi saw further opportunities arise for Vishal, with film journalists claiming that he was "the fastest rising action hero" of the time.^[10] After a cameo as himself in Sasi's Dishyum, he went on to appear alongside Reemma Sen for the second time and Sriya Reddy in Tarun Gopi's action film, Thimiru. The film opened to mixed reviews with Vishal being praised for his intense performance with a critic claiming his performance "is the film's only strength and, to an extent, making up for the weak script and poor characterisation".^[11] The film eventually went on to become Vishal's third consecutive commercial success, and he began to emerge as a new leading actor in Tamil films.^[12]

His next film, the political drama Sivappathigaram directed by Karu Pazhaniappan and featuring Mamta Mohandas and Raghuvaran became a failure financially despite favourable reviews.^[13] His next released in January 2008, Hari's multi-starring family drama Thaamirabharani and the film went on to gain considerable box-office success, carrying good reports amidst other big budget releases.^[14][15] Later in the year he appeared Boopathy Pandian's Malaikottai, a comedy entertainer starring Priyamani. In his first full-length comic role, Vishal received mixed feedback for his portrayal from critics, with Rediff stating that he is "a far cry from the rather endearing young man in Sandakozhi", whilst describing his performance as "cringeable", but another critic cited that he had utilised the opportunity well.^[16][17] Despite mixed reviews, the film took a large opening and became another big success for Vishal.^[18]

Vishal appeared in a leading role in noted filmmaker, Bala's Avan Ivan alongside Arya. During production, the film had gained Vishal acclaim for his change of image, with his portrayal as a squint being expected to gain him acclaim post-release.^[19] During the shoot of the film, Vishal suffered from severe eye pain and headaches whilst he also suffered a serious muscular injury on sets.^[19] Indiaglitz stated that Vishal delivered an "award winning performance" and that his "mannerisms and body language give you goosebumps". The reviewer further cited that "Vishal's spontaneous response to his mentor's death in the movie is touching. His demonstration of Navarasas in front of actor Suriya will melt you in tears".This movie proved the actor with in action hero and this movie was the highest grosser of vishal and bala career until the time of this movie release.^[20][21] Vishal played the role of a police officer in his following release, Vedi directed by Prabhu Deva and featuring Sameera Reddy opposite him.^[22] The film, a remake of the 2008 Telugu film Souryam, performed below average at the box office despite being promoted by Sun Pictures.

The actor's recent release Samar alongside Trisha Krishnan, in which he plays a forest trek guide, has opened to highly positive reviews^[23][24] and has been declared a commercial success thereby making his comeback. In the Mid of the year 2013, His next Pattathu Yaanai directed by Boopathy Pandian alongside Aishwarya Arjun is released. And He is now waiting for the release of Sundar C's comedy film Madha Gaja Raja which see him star alongside Anjali and Varalaxmi Sarathkumar. Pandianadu is his next with Suseenthiran, which is filming now under his own production house Vishal Film Factory. After Pandianadu he is planning a film with M.Saravanan.

Filmography

As Actor

As Singer

• 2013 "My Dear Loveru" in Madha Gaja Raja

As Producer

• 2013 Pandianadu
• 2014 Naan Sigappu Manithan

References

External links

• Vishal at the Internet Movie Database