Vikram is one of the most popular actors in India. He has starred in several super hit movies, and his work has earned him a lot of accolades over the years.
As of 2024, Vikram's net worth is estimated to be $20 million.
| Net Worth | $20 million |
| Given Name | Kennedy John Victor |
| Famous Name | Vikram |
| Source(s) of Fame | Actor |
| Age | 58 |
| Date of Birth | April 17, 1966 |
| Place of Birth | Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Height | 5'5" |
| Relationships | Married, Shailaja Balakrishnan, |
| Social Links |   |
Kennedy John Victor also known as Chiyaan Vikram was born on April 17, 1966, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India to a Christian father and a Hindu mother.
His father John Victor (alias Vinod Raj) is an Indian actor who flee from home at an early age to enter the entertainment industry. He only had supporting roles in Tamil cinema and tv serials.
Because of what his father went through, Vikram was inspired to be an actor. To make sure to land a leading role, he took theatre lessons and was professionally trained. Vikram’s mother Rajeshwari Raj worked as a sub-collector.
When he started his acting career, he decided to use a screen name since he didn’t like his real name, Kennedy. His screen name Vikram is composed by getting “Vi” from his father’s first name Vinod, “K” from Kennedy, “Ra” from his mother’s first name Rajeshwari, and “Ram” from his astrological sign Aries.
Chiyaan Vikram finished his secondary education at Montfort School Yercaud Salem, Tamil Nadu, a boarding school located in a hill station near Salem.
He was very honest with his parents that he wants to become an Indian film actor after his secondary education but his father pushed him to go to college. He gave what his father wanted and he got his English Literature diploma from Loyola College, Chennai. He even enrolled and almost finished an MBA program.
When he was in college, he joined and appeared in stage productions. He appeared in their school’s adaptation of Black Comedy where he got the best actor awards for his performance.
After receiving the Best Actor Award at a function held at IIT Madras, he had an accident. He was hit by a truck while riding his motorcycle on his way home. He suffered a serious leg injury and remained in the hospital for three long years during his college days. He went through a total of 23 surgeries just to prevent his leg from being amputated.
Chiyaan Vikram entered modeling first before he became an actor. He modeled for brands including Chola Tea. During his last year of his MBA at Loyola College, Vikram was approached by director C. V. Sridhar who offered him a lead role in a movie. He had his debut in 1990 in the movie “En Kadhal Kanmani”.
From 1993 until 1994, he had three successful Malayalam films as a supporting character before he worked with Gopi again for “Mafia”. Joshi then selected him to be part of the action drama “Sainyam”. Vikram also worked in small-budget Telugu films “Chirunavvula Varamistava” and “Bangaru Kutumbam”.
Throughout 1995 and 1996, he continued to work on Telugu and Malayalam films. He had the lead role in the Malayalam film “Mayoora Nritam”, and played the protagonist in “Street”.
In 1997, Vikram acted the character of the rogue Sethu (Chiyaan), in the film “Sethu”. For the film, he shaved his head and lost 46 pounds. The film had a hard time finding a distributor and it was finally released after two years.
The said film ran for over a hundred days across Chennai and Vikram was praised by critics. He then won a Filmfare Special Award – South and Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize. He was also nominated for a National Film Award for Best Actor. After this success, he decided to adapt Chiyaan to his screen name.
After his success with Sethu, he made guest appearances in the films “Red Indians” and “Indriyam”. He then had a lead role in a rare Tamil telefilm “Siragugal” that was shot in London.
He then worked in the film “Dhill” as a police officer in Kanagavel. For the role, Vikram went on a diet and lost a couple of pounds. The film received positive reviews and t became his first successful masala film.
His next film “Kasi” where he acted as a blind singer led him to win the Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award. For his role, he sunbathed in his home which is located in his birth place Chennai.
In 2002, Vikram acted in the film “Gemini” which was his first ever high-budget film. his next release was “Samurai” where he kidnapped bad politicians. His last movie for the year was “King” where he acted in the role of a magician.
Later in 2003, he had the lead role in the movie “Pithamagan” as Chitthan who is a gravedigger with autism. The film got positive reviews and he won the Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award and the National Film Award for Best Actor.
In October 2005, Vikram started working on the film “Bheemaa” which was released in January 2008. He is portrayed as Sekhar in the film who idolized a gangster. The film received mixed reviews
In 2012, Vikram worked with Shankar for the thriller I which became the highest-grossing Tamil movie at the box office. For the role, he gained weight and went to the gym so he will look like a bodybuilder. The film was released in January 2015 and got mixed reviews.
He acted in the film “Iru Mugan” in 2016 followed by “Sketch” and “Saamy Square” in 2018. In 2020, he appeared with his sin Dhruva in the film “Adithya Varma”.
Vikram is a philanthropist and has supported various social causes with several charity works. He helps blind poor people by paying for their eye surgeries.
He also has his own foundation called The Vikram Foundation which provides free heart operations for the poor and educates children.
The Indian actor has a lot of tv advertisements in India and endorses several brands, products, and companies which also contributes to his net worth.
Chiyaan Vikram only has a verified Instagram account that has over 1.3 million followers. We also found several fan pages dedicated to the actor on Facebook.
On his verified Instagram account, he often posts about his work, family, and friends. He also has several photos with his wife and children.
The Tamil actor Vikram married Shailaja Balakrishnan in 1992. They got married along with other couples during a mass wedding at Guruvayoor Temple. The couple has a daughter named Akshita who was born in 1993 and a son named Dhruv who was born in 1997.
Vikram is an actor who has been in the Tamil industry for over two decades and has won many Filmfare awards. With his super hit movies, Vikram’s net worth is estimated to be $20 Million. His net worth in Indian rupees is 1.5 billion.
Vikram has sometimes been associated with other Actors such as Kriti Sanon, Sudesh Lehri, Tara Sutaria, Disha Parmar, Anushka Shetty, Kangana Ranaut, Tanner Buchanan, Jenna Ortega, and Ava Michelle.