Vikram (Actor) Height, Weight, Age, Body Statistics
Kennedy John Victor, popularly known as Vikram is an Indian film star. He predominantly appears in Tamil movies. His debut film in the lead role was En Kadhal Kanmani (1990). Many of his small budget Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam movies in the 1990s went unnoticed. His film Sethu (1999) directed by Bala was a turning
Vikram Quick Info
Height
5 ft 6¼ in
Weight
73 kg
Date of Birth
April 17, 1966
Zodiac Sign
Aries
Spouse
Shailaja Balakrishnan
Kennedy John Victor, popularly known as ‘Vikram‘ is an Indian film star. He predominantly appears in Tamil movies. His debut film in the lead role was En Kadhal Kanmani (1990). Many of his small budget Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam movies in the 1990s went unnoticed. His film Sethu (1999) directed by Bala was a turning point in his career.
Born Name
Kennedy John Victor
Nick Name
Kenny, Chiyaan Vikram
Chiyaan Vikram as seen in Mumbai in 2009 (Bollywood Hungama / BollywoodHungama.com / CC BY 3.0)
Sun Sign
Aries
Born Place
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Residence
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Nationality
Education
Vikram studied in Montfort School, Yercaud and a boarding school situated in a hill station near Salem, Tamil Nadu and completed his schooling in 1983.
He was interested to work in films but his father forced him to continue his studies. Then, he pursued his degree in English Literature and MBA at Loyola College, Chennai.
Occupation
Film Actor, Film Producer, Playback Singer, Voice Actor
Family
Father – John Victor (alias Vinod Raj) (Supporting roles in Tamil Films and serials)
Actor Vikram as seen at Cavinkare Ability Awards 2015 (Janarthanan Kesavan /Wikimedia / CC BY-SA 4.0)
Manager
M. Suryanarayanan
Build
Athletic
Genre
Soundtrack
Instruments
Vocals
Labels
He is unsigned. Mostly, he has contributed to film songs. His songs are labeled by Sony Music India, Pyramid, Vega Music, Big B, Think Music, and others.
Height
5 ft 6¼ in or 168.5 cm
Weight
73 kg or 161 lbs
Girlfriend / Spouse
Vikram’s name has been linked with –
Shailaja Balakrishnan (1992-Present) – Shailaja’s native is Thalassery, Kerala. She has worked as a psychology teacher in Chennai. She has also worked with Deiva Thirumagal (2011) team to help Vikram portray the role of a mentally challenged man by providing professional advice to the team on how people with special needs are treated. They both met each other in the late 1980s and got married in 1992, Guruvayoor, Kerala. It was a mass wedding alongside dozens of couples and they also had a low-key wedding ceremony conducted at the church present at Loyola College, Chennai. They have a daughter and a son named Akshita and Dhruv respectively. Akshita married Manu Ranjith, the great-grandson of the late former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi in 2017. Their son Dhruv made his debut with Adithya Varma in 2019 portraying the lead role. The film is the remake of the Telugu movie Arjun Reddy (2017).
Race / Ethnicity
Asian (Indian)
He has Tamil ancestry.
Hair Color
Black
Eye Color
Dark Brown
Actor & UN-Habitat Youth Envoy Vikram as seen in 2011 (U.S. Consulate General Chennai / Flickr / Public Domain)
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Distinctive Features
Dedication towards acting
Down to earth personality
Brand Endorsements
He has appeared in the following TV commercials –
Chola Tea
Alwyn Watches
TVS Excel
3 Roses (2010)
He has served as a brand ambassador for –
Parle-G (2007)
Sanjeevani Trust – a charitable organization
Big Deal TV – a 24/7 celebrity-driven home shopping channel (2015)
Manappuram General Finance and Leasing Ltd (2015)
Goodwill ambassador for Vidya Sudha – a school for children with special needs.
Coca-Cola – For Tamil Nadu
Religion
Christianity
Chiyaan Vikram & A. R. Rahman unveils the first look of the film ‘I’ (2013) (Bollywood Hungama / BollywoodHungama.com / CC BY 3.0)
Vikram Facts
He hates his original name ‘Kennedy’. So, he used the first 2 letters of his father’s name ‘Vi’, ‘K’ from Kennedy, first 2 letters from his mother’s name ‘Ra’ and ‘ram’ from his zodiac sign Aries and composed his name as Vikram.
The actor has promoted various social causes. In 2011, he appeared as the Youth Envoy for the United Nations Human Settlements Programme. Chiyaan also has his welfare association called The Vikram Foundation and was also linked with Kasi Eye Care providing support to the underprivileged.
During his college days, the actor met with an accident while returning home on his motorbike after receiving the best actor award at IIT Madras. He suffered a serious leg injury and was hospital-ridden for 3 years. He has undergone 23 surgeries to prevent his leg from being removed surgically. Since he was able to walk only using crutches, he obtained permission from the management to finish his study at home and completed his final year of college studies.
For the film I (2012), Vikram portrayed the roles of a bodybuilder, a model, a beast and a hunchback. To portray the role of a bodybuilder, he put on weight by sticking to a protein-rich diet and coffee to make his muscles look distinct on screen. For the role of a model, he lost weight. Later, he lost 56 kilos of weight and shaved his head to portray the role of a hunchback. During his massive weight reduction process, he ate small meals of egg whites instead of regular food intakes. It took nearly 3 years to complete the production for the film. The actor has said that he suffered from folliculitis due to prosthetic make-up he had to wear for the film.
In July 2022, Vikram was admitted to Kauvery Hospital in Chennai after he complained of discomfort in the chest due to high fever symptoms. It was later revealed that he did not have a cardiac arrest and was clinically stable.
Featured Image by U.S. Consulate General Chennai / Flickr / Public Domain
