Vishal Kudawla (born 17 July 1984), known professionally as Vishnu Vishal, is an Indian actor and producer who appears in Tamil film industry. After a brief career in cricket, he started his acting career in the year 2009 playing the lead role in the sports film Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu, winning acclaim for his portrayal. Vishnu won further acclaim for his role in Neerparavai (2012), portraying a fisherman. He rose to fame with the psychological thriller film, Ratsasan (2018).

Early life and family

Vishnu Vishal was born on 17 July 1984 to Ramesh Kudawla, a high-ranking Tamil Nadu police officer. He finished his schooling in Holy Cross Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Vellore. After completing his MBA in marketing from SRM Institute of Science and Technology, he went on to become a cricketer, playing in TNCA league games. However, a leg injury ended his cricket career and the actor noted that during the time he was bedridden, he started watching films and began an interest in an acting career. His father's uncle had been an actor in several small films and he shaped Vishnu's interest in the industry. He entered the film industry changing his name to Vishnu to which he later added his birth name.

Career

After being offered a role by Anand Chakravarthy in Suseenthiran's directorial debut ''Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu'', Vishnu spent months preparing for the role. He had to tan his body sitting for hours in the sun to get dark and look like a player and then for 3 months he trained for kabbadi matches under a coach, for five hours a day. The film opened to very positive reviews, with Vishnu earning a nomination from the Vijay Awards for Best Debut Actor. He had two releases in 2010, portraying an action role in the comedy ''Bale Pandiya'' and then played a rowdy from Royapuram in ''Drohi''. Featuring alongside Srikanth in the latter, Vishnu had to put on to look mature for the role. He subsequently worked on the comedy, ''Kullanari Koottam'', After a year without any releases, he had two releases in 2014: the romantic comedy ''Mundasupatti'' under Thirukumaran Entertainment and the sports drama ''Jeeva'' for which he collaborated with Suseenthiran again. Both films won positive reviews and performed well at the box office.In 2015, he appeared in the science and fiction comedy ''Indru Netru Naalai'' directed by R.Ravikumar. The movie was a super hit at the box office. Vishnu had two releases in 2016. His first release of the year was also his first production venture, the comedy film ''Velainu Vandhutta Vellaikaaran'' directed by Ezhil, with Nikki Galrani in the female lead. The movie was one of the most profitable ventures at the box office. His final release of the year was ''Maveeran Kittu'', a period drama set in the 1980s. Despite receiving positive reviews, the movie did well at the box office. He finished shooting for Seenu Ramasamy's ''Idam Porul Yaeval''. His next films are ''Katha Nayagan'' (2017), ''Raatchasan'' (2018) and ''Silukkuvarupatti Singam'' (2018) directed by a first time film maker, Chella. His next films are ''Katha Nayagan'' (2017), ''Raatchasan'' (2018) and ''Silukkuvarupatti Singam'' (2018) directed by a first time film maker, Chella.In 2021, the Prabhu Solomon's ''Kaadan'' has received mixed reviews from the audience and critics alike. He played a Muslim in the film ''FIR'' (2022), which touched upon the sensitive issue of branding Muslims as terrorists. The film was banned in Malaysia, Kuwait and Qatar. In the same year, the actor played a wrestler in the family entertainer ''Gatta Kusthi'' co-starring Aishwarya Lekshmi and co-produced by Ravi Teja.

2009–2014

After being offered a role by Anand Chakravarthy in Suseenthiran's directorial debut ''Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu'', Vishnu spent months preparing for the role. He had to tan his body sitting for hours in the sun to get dark and look like a player and then for 3 months he trained for kabbadi matches under a coach, for five hours a day. The film opened to very positive reviews, with Vishnu earning a nomination from the Vijay Awards for Best Debut Actor. He had two releases in 2010, portraying an action role in the comedy ''Bale Pandiya'' and then played a rowdy from Royapuram in ''Drohi''. Featuring alongside Srikanth in the latter, Vishnu had to put on to look mature for the role. He subsequently worked on the comedy, ''Kullanari Koottam'', After a year without any releases, he had two releases in 2014: the romantic comedy ''Mundasupatti'' under Thirukumaran Entertainment and the sports drama ''Jeeva'' for which he collaborated with Suseenthiran again. Both films won positive reviews and performed well at the box office.

2015–2018

In 2015, he appeared in the science and fiction comedy ''Indru Netru Naalai'' directed by R.Ravikumar. The movie was a super hit at the box office. Vishnu had two releases in 2016. His first release of the year was also his first production venture, the comedy film ''Velainu Vandhutta Vellaikaaran'' directed by Ezhil, with Nikki Galrani in the female lead. The movie was one of the most profitable ventures at the box office. His final release of the year was ''Maveeran Kittu'', a period drama set in the 1980s. Despite receiving positive reviews, the movie did well at the box office. He finished shooting for Seenu Ramasamy's ''Idam Porul Yaeval''. His next films are ''Katha Nayagan'' (2017), ''Raatchasan'' (2018) and ''Silukkuvarupatti Singam'' (2018) directed by a first time film maker, Chella. His next films are ''Katha Nayagan'' (2017), ''Raatchasan'' (2018) and ''Silukkuvarupatti Singam'' (2018) directed by a first time film maker, Chella.

2021–present

In 2021, the Prabhu Solomon's ''Kaadan'' has received mixed reviews from the audience and critics alike. He played a Muslim in the film ''FIR'' (2022), which touched upon the sensitive issue of branding Muslims as terrorists. The film was banned in Malaysia, Kuwait and Qatar. In the same year, the actor played a wrestler in the family entertainer ''Gatta Kusthi'' co-starring Aishwarya Lekshmi and co-produced by Ravi Teja.

Personal life

Vishnu Vishal was married to Rajini Natraj, daughter of the actor K. Natraj. The two were college-mates and were in a relationship for four years before getting married. Their wedding took place on 2 December 2010 at Hotel Asiana in Chennai, and their son was born in 2017. In November 2018, the couple divorced due to undisclosed reasons.Vishnu got engaged to badminton player Jwala Gutta in September 2020. Their wedding took place on April 22, 2021 in Hyderabad.