'''Ray Garton''' is the author of over fifty books including popular 1980s horror novel ''Live Girls'' and its sequel ''Night Life'' as well as the 2006 Leisure paperback ''The Loveliest Dead''. He has also penned several short stories and novellas. In 2006, Ray received the [[World Horror Convention Grand Master Award]] at the World Horror Convention in San Francisco, putting Ray in the company of some of horror’s most notable scribblers.
''This article is about the Indian film actor. For other uses see [[Vijay (disambiguation)]]''
{{Infobox actor
| name = Vijay
| image =<!-- Azhagiya-Tamilmagan-224.jpg -->
| imagesize =
| caption = Vijay in ''[[Azhagiya Thamizh Magan]]''
'''Vijay''' ([[Tamil language|Tamil]]: விஜய்), (born '''Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar''' on [[June 22]], [[1974]]) is a [[Tamil film]] [[actor]] and [[playback singer]]. He began his acting career doing minor, uncredited roles as a child artist, produced by his father [[S. A. Chandrasekhar]]. Today he is known for his pacy dance sequences and his stereotypical acting style. He is referred to as ''Ilayathalapathy'' (transliterally meaning "Young General"), which is always used along with his name in film credits<ref>[http://www.vijaynet.com/profile/bg.php Vijay's Biography]</ref>.
He currently resides in California with his wife Dawn.
==Personal Background==
==Works==
Joseph Vijay was born on [[June 22]], [[1974]] to film producer [[S. A. Chandrasekhar]] and Shoba Chandrasekhar, a playback singer. He had a sister named Vidhya who died at the age of two. Vijay studied Visual Communications at Loyola College, but dropped out to pursue an acting career. He was interestingly classmates with [[Surya Sivakumar]], [[Yuvan Shankar Raja]], [[Karthik Raja]], and [[Vishnuvardhan (director)|Vishnuvardhan]].
===Novels===
*''Seductions'' (1984)
*''Darklings'' (1985)
*''Crucifax Autumn'' (1988)
*''Crucifax'' (1989)
*''Lot Lizards'' (1990)
*''Trade Secrets'' (1990)
*''Kill the Teacher’s Pet'' (1991) as Joseph Locke
*''New Neighbor'' (1991)
*''Dark Channel'' (1992)
*''Kiss of Death'' (1992) as Joseph Locke
*''Petrified'' (1992) as Joseph Locke
*''Game Over'' (1993) as Joseph Locke
*''The Teacher'' (1993) as Joseph Locke
*''1-900-Killer'' (1994) as Joseph Locke
*''Vengeance'' (1994) as Joseph Locke
*''Biofire'' (1996)
*''Shackled'' (1996)
*''411'', a [[novella]] (1998)
*''Sex and Violence in Hollywood'' (2001)
*''Zombie Love'' (2003)
*''Scissors'' (2004)
*''The Loveliest Dead'' (2005)
*''Ravenous'' (2008)
*''Serpent Girl'' (2008)
He married Sangeetha on [[August 25]], [[1999]]. They have two children: Jason Sanjay, born on [[August 26]], [[2000]] in [[London]], and Divya Saasha, born on [[September 9]], [[2005]] in [[Chennai]].
===Series===
==Acting Career==
====''Blood and Lace'' series====
===Acting Style===
Writing as Joseph Locke
He began his acting career doing minor, uncredited roles as a child artist in Kollywood. Today he is known for his pacy dance sequences and his stereotypical acting style. He is referred to as Ilaya Thalapathy, which is also always used along with his name in credits. One can expect Vijay films to contain the art of entertaining people with dialogues, songs, dances, and superhero fight scenes.
#''Vampire Heart'' (1994)
#''Deadly Relations'' (1994)
Vijay's films often open large in [[India]] and, more recently, in several other countries as well. Vijay's films are noted to have a minimum guaruntee of collection at box offices. Vijay's stereotypical style of entertainment is often compared to the styles of [[M. G. Ramachandran]] and [[Rajinikanth]]. This made many film critics to look apon Vijay as the successor of the two actors and christen him as the next [[super star]] of [[Tamil cinema]].
====''TheFolks''series====
=== Films ===
Vijay debuted as a lead role actor in the [[1992]] film ''[[Naalaya Theerpu]]'', produced by his father, then he co-stared with [[Vijayakanth]] in the film ''[[Sendhoorapandi]]''. This film helped Vijay to become popular in the interior areas of Tamil Nadu. Films like ''[[Rasigan]]'', ''[[Vishnu]]'', and ''[[Deva]]'' followed, which all helped to increase Vijay's star value. Vijay is also one of the few lead actors of his generation to co-star with veteran actor [[Sivaji Ganesan]]. This opportunity came in the film ''[[Once More]]'', directed by [[S. A. Chandrasekhar]] in [[1994]].
#''The Folks'' (2001)
#''The Folks 2'' (2008)
The year [[1996]] saw a blockbuster hit in the Vikraman-directed film ''[[Poove Unakkaga]]'' which helped Vijay to establish as a bankable star in Tamil films. He found more success with films that followed, which had an unorthodox climax like ''[[Love Today]]'', ''[[Kadhalukku Mariyadhai]]'' and ''[[Priyamudan]]''. ''Kadhalukku Mariyadhai'' made Vijay receive that year's [[Tamil Nadu]] state Best Actor Award.
====''Live Girls'' series====
#''Live Girls'' (1987)
#''Night Life'' (2005)
Following ''[[Thulladha Manamum Thullum]]'', the films ''[[Endrendrum Kadhal]]'', ''[[Nenjinile]]'', ''[[Minsara Kanna]]'' and ''[[Kannukkul Nilavu]]'' failed to meet his previous success. He decided not to commit in films that took a year to release, which changed his trend. His next venture was ''[[Kushi]]'' which was a blockbuster of [[2000]]. The following films like ''[[Priyamanavale]]'', ''[[Friends (2001 film)|Friends]]'' and ''[[Badri]]'' were once again successful for Vijay
===Novelizations===
Movie [[novelization]]s by Ray Garton:
*''[[Invaders from Mars (1986 film)|Invaders from Mars]]'' (1986)
*''[[A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master]]'' (1989) as Joseph Locke
*''[[A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child]]'' (1989) as Joseph Locke
*''[[Warlock (1989 film)|Warlock]]'' (1989)
*''[[Good Burger]]'' (1997) as Joseph Locke
*''[[Can't Hardly Wait]]'' (1998)
Later on, he starred in ''[[Shahjahan (film)|Shahjahan]]'', ''[[Thamizhan]]'', ''[[Youth (film)|Youth]]'', and ''[[Bagavathi]]'' which maintained Vijay's success. However, the films that followed, which were ''[[Vaseegara]]'', ''[[Pudhiya Geethai]]'', and his delayed film ''[[Udhaya]]'' became low grossers and flopped. This highly affected Vijay's success rate and he was looked down upon by film critics and producers.
===TV Series Tie-in Contributions===
TV series [[tie-in]] novels:
His string of failure films was broken by ''[[Thirumalai]]'' in [[2004]] which had Vijay in a new facial appearance. ''[[Ghilli]]'', which was also released in [[2004]], is considered to be one of Vijay's biggest hits today. Another hit had followed, which was ''[[Madhurey]]''. It was in this year which Vijay began to portray his current mass-hero, stereotypical acting style. The following year had other major successes such as ''[[Thirupaachi]]'', ''[[Sachein]]'', and ''[[Sivakasi (film)|Sivakasi]]''.
====[[The Secret World of Alex Mack]]====
*''Hocus Pocus'' (1997) as Joseph Locke
*''Lights, Camera, Action!'' (1998)
[[Image:Pokkiri01.jpg|thumb|right|Vijay awarded by [[Kamal Haasan]] for the success of ''[[Pokkiri]]''.]]
====[[Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (TV series)|Sabrina, the Teenage Witch]] series====
Vijay's only flop film since the release of ''Thirumalai'' was ''[[Aathi]]'', which released in [[2006]]. ''Aathi'' had created some controversy during that year and many film distributors decided on thinking twice before handling any new Vijay films. This resulted in Vijay taking a break from acting for nearly a year, until the launch of ''[[Pokkiri]]'', directed by [[Prabhu Deva]], which released in [[2007]]. ''Pokkiri'' had met the same success as ''Ghilli'' did, in which Vijay was given a different style to act as. This made Vijay receive an honourary doctorate title from the M. G. R. University. Later that year, Vijay appeared in ''[[Azhagiya Thamizh Magan]]'', and for the first time, he appeared in dual roles. His roles in this film, as the antagonist and protagonist, made him to be considered for a [[Filmfare Best Actor Award (Tamil)|Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award]].
*''Ben There, Done That'' (1997) as Joseph Locke (ISBN 0-671-01680-6) <!--It is called ''Ben there Done That'', in reference to Ben Franklin and the $100 bill-->
*''The Troll Bride'' (1998) as Joseph Locke
*''All That Glitters'' (1998)
Vijay's latest film, ''[[Kuruvi]]'', managed to release worldwide with much hype,but failed miserably in the box office. Directed by Dharani, ''Kuruvi'' also had [[Trisha Krishnan]] and [[Ashish Vidhyarthi]] in the cast and the film's score was composed by [[Vidyasagar]], the same team that worked with Vijay in ''Ghilli'' four years ago.
====[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV series)|Buffy the Vampire Slayer]] series====
*''[[Resurrecting Ravana]]'' (1999)
Vijay is currently acting in ''[[Villu]]'', again under Prabhu Deva's direction. The film is expected to be released in [[2009]]. He will also make a special appearance in the film ''[[Pandhayam]]'', starring [[Nithin Sathya]] and directed by [[S. A. Chandrasekhar]].
===Collections===
*''Methods of Madness'' (1990)
*''Pieces of Hate'' (1995)
*''The Girl in the Basement and Other Stories'' (2004)
*'''Nids and Other Stories'' (2005)
*''Slivers of Bone'' (2008)
===Short Stories===
==Awards==
* [[Tamil Nadu]] state's Best Actor Award in [[1997]] for ''[[Kadhalukku Mariyadhai]]'' [[Image:Shankar vijay.jpg|thumb|right|Vijay with the honourary doctor award, along with director [[S. Shankar]].]]
*"Active Member" (1987)
*"Monsters" (1988)
*"Sinema" (1988)
*"Punishments" (1989)
*"Dr Krusadian's Method" (1990)
*"Fat" (1990)
*"The Other Man" (1990)
*"The Picture of Health" (1990)
*"Shock Radio" (1990)
*"Something Kinky" (1990)
*"Pieces" (1992)
*"Screams at the Gateway to Fame" (1996)
*"Hair of the Dog" (1997)
*"Haunted in the Head" (1997)
*"From Eight to Nine O' Clock" (2007)
* Roja Duke's Best Actor Award for the film ''[[Kadhalukku Mariyadhai]]''
===Non Fiction===
* M.G.R. Award in [[2000]]
*''In a Dark Place: The Story of a True Haunting'' (1992), based on the events of the Snedeker family's alleged encounter with the paranormal
* Dinakaran Best Actor Award in [[2004]] for ''[[Ghilli]]''
* Film Today Best Actor Award in [[2005]] for ''[[Ghilli]]''
* Honorary doctorate in [[2007]]
* Sunfeast Music Awards - Best Hero For The Film ''[[Pokkiri]]'' in 2007
==Externallinks==
==Singing Career==
Vijay also sang several songs in his own films. He has also lent his voice for songs for other actors, which were films produced by S. A. Chandrasekhar. Vijay's songs are often of ghaana-style folk beat type. The last song Vijay sang was ''Vaadi Vaadi'' from ''[[Sachien]]'' in [[2005]].
*[http://www.bitingdogpress.com/Bitingdogpub/garton/home.htm Official Website of Novelist Ray Garton]
==See also==
*[[List of horror fiction authors]]
==Filmography==
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garton, Ray}}
===As actor===
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
|rowspan="2"| [[2003 in film|2003]] || ''[[Puthiya Geethai]]'' || Sarathy ||
|-
| ''[[Thirumalai]]'' || Thirumalai ||
|-
|rowspan="3"| [[2004 in film|2004]] || ''[[Udhaya]]'' || Udhayakumaran ||
|-
| ''[[Ghilli]]'' ||Saravanavelu||
|-
| ''[[Madhurey]]'' || Madhurey ||
|-
|rowspan="4"| [[2005 in film|2005]] || ''[[Thirupaachi]]'' || Sivagiri || '''Winner:''' [[Tamil Nadu State Film Award (Special Prizes)|Tamil Nadu State Film Special Award for Best Actor]]
|[[2006 in film|2006]] || ''[[Aathi]]'' || Aathi ||
|-
|rowspan="2"| [[2007 in film|2007]] || ''[[Pokiri (Tamil film)|Pokkiri]]'' || Thamizh (Sathyamoorthy) || Nominated: [[Filmfare Best Actor Award (Tamil)|Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award]]
Vijay (Tamil: விஜய்), (born Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar on June 22, 1974) is a Tamil filmactor and playback singer. He began his acting career doing minor, uncredited roles as a child artist, produced by his father S. A. Chandrasekhar. Today he is known for his pacy dance sequences and his stereotypical acting style. He is referred to as Ilayathalapathy (transliterally meaning "Young General"), which is always used along with his name in film credits[1].
Personal Background
Joseph Vijay was born on June 22, 1974 to film producer S. A. Chandrasekhar and Shoba Chandrasekhar, a playback singer. He had a sister named Vidhya who died at the age of two. Vijay studied Visual Communications at Loyola College, but dropped out to pursue an acting career. He was interestingly classmates with Surya Sivakumar, Yuvan Shankar Raja, Karthik Raja, and Vishnuvardhan.
He began his acting career doing minor, uncredited roles as a child artist in Kollywood. Today he is known for his pacy dance sequences and his stereotypical acting style. He is referred to as Ilaya Thalapathy, which is also always used along with his name in credits. One can expect Vijay films to contain the art of entertaining people with dialogues, songs, dances, and superhero fight scenes.
Vijay's films often open large in India and, more recently, in several other countries as well. Vijay's films are noted to have a minimum guaruntee of collection at box offices. Vijay's stereotypical style of entertainment is often compared to the styles of M. G. Ramachandran and Rajinikanth. This made many film critics to look apon Vijay as the successor of the two actors and christen him as the next super star of Tamil cinema.
Films
Vijay debuted as a lead role actor in the 1992 film Naalaya Theerpu, produced by his father, then he co-stared with Vijayakanth in the film Sendhoorapandi. This film helped Vijay to become popular in the interior areas of Tamil Nadu. Films like Rasigan, Vishnu, and Deva followed, which all helped to increase Vijay's star value. Vijay is also one of the few lead actors of his generation to co-star with veteran actor Sivaji Ganesan. This opportunity came in the film Once More, directed by S. A. Chandrasekhar in 1994.
The year 1996 saw a blockbuster hit in the Vikraman-directed film Poove Unakkaga which helped Vijay to establish as a bankable star in Tamil films. He found more success with films that followed, which had an unorthodox climax like Love Today, Kadhalukku Mariyadhai and Priyamudan. Kadhalukku Mariyadhai made Vijay receive that year's Tamil Nadu state Best Actor Award.
Later on, he starred in Shahjahan, Thamizhan, Youth, and Bagavathi which maintained Vijay's success. However, the films that followed, which were Vaseegara, Pudhiya Geethai, and his delayed film Udhaya became low grossers and flopped. This highly affected Vijay's success rate and he was looked down upon by film critics and producers.
His string of failure films was broken by Thirumalai in 2004 which had Vijay in a new facial appearance. Ghilli, which was also released in 2004, is considered to be one of Vijay's biggest hits today. Another hit had followed, which was Madhurey. It was in this year which Vijay began to portray his current mass-hero, stereotypical acting style. The following year had other major successes such as Thirupaachi, Sachein, and Sivakasi.
Vijay's only flop film since the release of Thirumalai was Aathi, which released in 2006. Aathi had created some controversy during that year and many film distributors decided on thinking twice before handling any new Vijay films. This resulted in Vijay taking a break from acting for nearly a year, until the launch of Pokkiri, directed by Prabhu Deva, which released in 2007. Pokkiri had met the same success as Ghilli did, in which Vijay was given a different style to act as. This made Vijay receive an honourary doctorate title from the M. G. R. University. Later that year, Vijay appeared in Azhagiya Thamizh Magan, and for the first time, he appeared in dual roles. His roles in this film, as the antagonist and protagonist, made him to be considered for a Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award.
Vijay's latest film, Kuruvi, managed to release worldwide with much hype,but failed miserably in the box office. Directed by Dharani, Kuruvi also had Trisha Krishnan and Ashish Vidhyarthi in the cast and the film's score was composed by Vidyasagar, the same team that worked with Vijay in Ghilli four years ago.
Vijay is currently acting in Villu, again under Prabhu Deva's direction. The film is expected to be released in 2009. He will also make a special appearance in the film Pandhayam, starring Nithin Sathya and directed by S. A. Chandrasekhar.
Sunfeast Music Awards - Best Hero For The Film Pokkiri in 2007
Singing Career
Vijay also sang several songs in his own films. He has also lent his voice for songs for other actors, which were films produced by S. A. Chandrasekhar. Vijay's songs are often of ghaana-style folk beat type. The last song Vijay sang was Vaadi Vaadi from Sachien in 2005.
