Vijay Gurunatha Sethupathi Kalimuthu (born 16 January 1978)^[4] is an Indian actor, producer, lyricist, and dialogue writer referred to by fans and media as “Makkal Selvan”, a title which was conferred upon him by Director Seenu Ramasamy. Sethupathi works predominantly in Tamil cinema besides few Telugu and Malayalam productions.^[5][6] He has starred in more than 30 films. Over the years, Sethupathi has transformed into a successful and popular “Indie-film star” in Tamil cinema.^[7][8][9] He has won numerous awards, including two Filmfare Awards South and three Vijay Awards.

Following a stint as an accountant, Sethupathi began considering an acting career. He started his film career working as a background actor, playing minor supporting roles for over five years,^[10] before playing his first lead role in Seenu Ramasamy‘s Thenmerku Paruvakaatru (2010).^[11] He went on to play the villain role in Sundarapandian (2012), and got his breakout roles with the films Pizza (2012) and Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom (2012).^[12]