Vanitha Vijayakumar

Vanitha Vijayakumar is an Indian actress who has appeared predominantly in Tamil language films. She has also acted in Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada language films.^[1] She made her cinematic acting debut in 1995, along with actor Vijay in Chandralekha, where she played the title role.^[2][3][4]

Early life[]

Vanitha is the eldest daughter of Tamil actor Vijayakumar and his second wife, Tamil actress Manjula. Vanitha has two younger sisters, Preetha and Sridevi, who are former actresses. From his first marriage to Muthukannu Vellalar, Vijayakumar had three children. Actor Arun Vijay and former actress Kavitha are among her half-siblings.^[5]

In September 2018, she had another public fallout with her family after she refused to leave a family property that she had initially rented for a shoot in Ashtalakshmi Nagar. Her father, Vijayakumar, subsequently filed a police complaint against her.^[6][7]

Career[]

Vanitha made her acting debut opposite Vijay in Chandralekha (1995).^[4] Directed by Nambirajan, the film was shot in a small village and owing to the lack of caravans, Vanitha had to make use of basic conditions.^[8] The film opened to mixed reviews and eventually did not perform well at the box office, effectively curtailing Vanitha's career.^[9] Vanitha subsequently appeared alongside Rajkiran in Manikkam (1996), before moving on to act in the Malayalam film Hitler Brothers (1997) and Telugu devotional fantasy film Devi (1999). As film offers began to reduce, Vanitha worked as a costume designer for her sister Preetha's films, and then also worked as an assistant director to P. Vasu during the making of Kakkai Siraginilae (2000).^[10] After her first marriage to Akash, Vanitha quit the film industry.

Vanitha made a brief comeback to acting in the mid 2010s, and first appeared in a small role in Naan Rajavaga Pogiren (2013). She followed this up with a longer role in the comedy drama, Summa Nachunu Irukku (2013). Vanitha then chose to turn producer and make a film titled MGR Sivaji Rajini Kamal (2015), to be directed by her then-boyfriend Robert. She produced the film under the Vanitha Film Production banner, suggesting that the script of the film originated from a joke they discussed at a social gathering.^[11][12] Following the commercial failure of the film, Vanitha lodged a police complaint against distribution studio Vibrant Medias, alleging that they did not release the film in 80 cinemas as agreed in their contract.^[13]

In 2019, Vanitha appeared in the Tamil reality television show Bigg Boss Tamil 3 on Star Vijay. She was the second contestant to be eliminated from the show. After a few weeks of request from fans for Vanitha to enter the house as a wild card, and as after she left the TRP rating reduced, they sent her again as a contestant.^[14]

In 2020, Vanitha appeared on season 1 of the Tamil Cooking show Cooku with Comali on Star Vijay and became the winner.^[15]

Personal life[]

Vanitha Vijayakumar married actor Akash on 10 September 2000.^[16] Their son was born in 2001 and their daughter was born in 2005. Following a lengthy custody dispute, the Madras High Court ordered that the children split their time between both parents. Her son later moved in permanently with his grandfather and then Akash.^[17][18]

Vanitha Vijayakumar got then married again with businessman Anand Jay Rajan, in 2007. The pair has a daughter. The couple separated soon after and were officially divorced in 2012, with Rajan being awarded custody of their child. Vanitha suggested that the pair divorced as a result of her disputes with Vijayakumar, and that Rajan had effectively become indirectly involved in the controversy costing her peace and career opportunities.^[19] In 2019, police questioned Vanitha while on the set of Bigg Boss Tamil 3 in Chennai over a complaint filed by Rajan alleging that she had kidnapped their daughter.^[19] Vanitha was not arrested after her daughter confirmed that she had voluntarily come to Chennai with her mother.^[20]

Following her separation with Anand Rajan in 2010, Vanitha dated choreographer Robert beginning in 2013.^[21] The duo also worked together professionally by producing a film titled MGR Sivaji Rajini Kamal (2015), before ending their relationship in 2017.^[22][23]

She was in relationship with Peter Paul, who is already married and a father of two children.^[24] The couple got married on 27 June 2020 in Chennai. Vanitha's marital relationship with Peter was controversial among people. Peter's first wife, Elizabeth, had filed a case on Vanitha and her husband for not getting an official divorce before. As of October 2020, Vanitha had divorced Peter with mutual consent, owing to his ongoing addiction to cigarettes and alcohol.^{[citation needed]}

Selected filmography[]

Television[]

Fiction

Non-fiction

Stage shows[]

• Millennium Charity Concert 2000
• Sun Kudumbam Viruthugal (2019) Guest
• Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards (2020) Guest

References[]