Professional Career
His journey in filmdom began as a child actor in the film Sri Valli in 1961. Vijaykumar was the little Lord Murugan in ‘Sri Valli’ starring Sivaji Ganesan and Padmini. But not many offers were forthcoming for the little actor. In 1973 Vijayakumar got his first break in Ponnuku Thanga Manasu directed by Devaraj-Mohan. The other hero in the film was Sivakumar. The success of ‘Ponnuku Thanga Manasu’ got him a permanent place in Tamil cinema. Vijayakumar ruled the seventies along with Jaishankar and Muthuraman as second generation actors after MGR and Sivaji Gneshan.He played supporting role to MGR's role in Indrum Pol Endrum Vazhgha and to Sivaji in Dheepam. His solo hero films of the 1970s include Aval Oru Thodarkathai, Mathura Geetham, Azhage Unnai Arathikkiren, Mathura Geetham.
Then in 1988 came Mani Ratnam's Agni Natchathiram, which narrated the story of two half brothers who fight for their father's love and property and from here his second innings as character actor started. In 1990 he acted in Velai Kidaichiruchu directed by P. Vasu Then in 1993 came his sterling performance in the film Kizhakku Cheemayile as Maayaandi Thevan. Directed by Veteran Bharathiraaja It is a tale about sibling love. The movie was then popularly dubbed as the Paasamalar of the 90s. In 1994 he played another mind blowing role in the film Nattamai. The film was directed by K. S. Ravikumar in which he played a role of village chief. The film was known for its famous dialogue "Nattamai, theerpa maathi sollu." . So impressive was the role, it was enacted by the south Indian superstar Rajinikanth in the Telugu remake Peddarayudu. The 1995 film Anthimanthaarai,another venture with director Bharathiraaja, almost took him close to National Film Award for Best Actor. He has also made brief stints in Telugu Cinema. He has acted in over 400 films.
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