Vadivelu

Kumaravadivel Natarajan (born 13 September 1960), known professionally as Vadivelu, is an Indian actor, comedian and playback singer, having acted in supporting and lead roles in Tamil cinema. He gained widespread acclaim in Kollywood in the 2000s. His first film as a lead actor, Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikesi (2006), achieved commercial and critical success. His career declined in the 2010s due to various controversies, and culminated in him receiving a ban from performing in future films at the time.Vadivelu has also received awards in the Best Comedian category for his performances in Kaalam Maari Pochu (1996), Vetri Kodi Kattu (2000), Thavasi (2001), Chandramukhi (2005), Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikesi (2006), Pokkiri (2007), Marudhamalai (2007) and Kathavarayan (2008). His popularity led to his media-coined nickname, Vaigai Puyal, meaning "Vaigai storm", referring to the river that flows through his hometown Madurai. Vadivelu's comic dialogues in films served as an inspiration for memes in social media. In 2019, Vadivelu was featured in the sudden viral memes related to the hashtag Pray for Nesamani which was the most trending hashtag in India in 2019.In 2021, Vadivelu confirmed the lifting of the ban, after 4 years, and returned to play the lead in Naai Sekar Returns (2022), a spin-off of his character from Thalai Nagaram and also signed on more projects to be released in the future, both as lead and comedian.