Vijay Kumar Basavarajaiah (17 July 1983 – 15 June 2021), known by his stage name Sanchari Vijay, was an Indian actor known for his work in Kannada cinema. He began his career as a stage actor. He trained on stage from Sanchari Theatre, a culture centre with its own drama troupe, based in Bangalore.For his portrayal of a transgender person in the Kannada film Naanu Avanalla...Avalu (2014), Vijay was awarded the National Film Award for Best Actor at the 62nd National Film Awards. He also received the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actor and the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor – South for the performance. He received praise for his performances in Killing Veerappan (2016) and Nathicharami (2018). In a career spanning ten years, he appeared in 25 films, before his death from a motorcycle crash in 2021.

Early life

Vijay was born on 18 July 1983 in Panchanahalli, a village in Kadur taluk of Karnataka's Chikmagalur district. His father Basavarajaiah was an actor and musician and mother Gowramma, a nurse and folk singer. Vijay was the younger of two children; he had an older brother, Siddesh. Vijay's parents died when he was a teenager; his mother from jaundice and father soon after. To help fund his brother's education, Vijay took up a job at a hotel in Bangalore, where he washed utensils. After his brother began working, Vijay completed his pre-university course, before enrolling in B.M.S. College of Engineering, to study engineering. During this time, he was drawn towards stage acting and joined Sanchari Theatre. After graduating, Vijay began working as a lecturer in a college teaching computer science to diploma students. He also began acting in television soap operas while also remaining active on stage.As a child, Vijay played minor roles on stage. In a 2017 interview, he recalled, "I had never imagined that I will end up being an actor. Yes, I did have some qualities like enacting my favourite roles after watching a film or a drama, but all of this was in the past, as later, I started getting serious about education. In fact, even while studying, my friends would notice my acting skills."

Career

]]Vijay made his debut in films with the 2011 Kannada film ''Rangappa Hogbitna''. It was followed by a minor role in ''Rama Rama Raghu Rama'', before he received recognition for his performance in ''Dasavala'' in which he played a disabled boy. Shyam Prasad S. of ''Bangalore Mirror'' wrote, "...Vijay is undoubtedly the best performer. He is unbelievably real in the role and deserves all the praise."]]Vijay made his debut in films with the 2011 Kannada film ''Rangappa Hogbitna''. It was followed by a minor role in ''Rama Rama Raghu Rama'', before he received recognition for his performance in ''Dasavala'' in which he played a disabled boy. Shyam Prasad S. of ''Bangalore Mirror'' wrote, "...Vijay is undoubtedly the best performer. He is unbelievably real in the role and deserves all the praise." He was later cast in ''Oggarane'' (2014) and as lead actor subsequently in ''Harivu'' (2014). In ''Harivu'', he played a farmer who travels to Bangalore and struggles to treat his terminally-ill son.In ''Naanu Avanalla...Avalu'' (2015), his portrayal of a transgender person won him the Best Actor Award at the 62nd National Film Awards. With the award win, Vijay became the third actor after M. V. Vasudeva Rao and Charuhasan to win the National Award for Best Actor for performing in a Kannada film. At the same awards, ''Harivu'' won the award for Best Feature Film in Kannada.In ''Nathicharami'' (2018), a film that explores a widow's sexuality, Vijay played Suresh, a middle-aged man, a character with "two very different shades", troubled by an unhappy marriage. At the same awards, ''Harivu'' won the award for Best Feature Film in Kannada.In ''Nathicharami'' (2018), a film that explores a widow's sexuality, Vijay played Suresh, a middle-aged man, a character with "two very different shades", troubled by an unhappy marriage. In ''Krishna Tulasi'' (2018), he played a visually impaired tourist guide. A Sharadhaa of ''the New Indian Express'' called it one of his "best performance" and wrote, "He clearly gets into the character of a blind man in love, delivering a powerful performance." ''The News Minute'' wrote, "Sanchari Vijay pulls off a strong performance, capturing the texture of a variety of emotions." In ''Aatakkuntu Lekkakkilla'' (2019), Vijay played a schizophrenia patient who suspects his wife of infidelity. In commercial films (2018) and ''Gentleman'' (2020), he played a cop.Vijay's upcoming releases include ''Melobba Mayavi'', a film based on organized crime in the coastal Karnataka region.In ''Taledanda'', he plays Kunnegowda, a boy obsessed with trees and plants, belonging to the Soliga tribe of South Karnataka. In the psychological thriller ''Phirangipura'', he portrays three different shades depicting a person's transition from childhood to old age as he travels from Bengaluru to Rajasthan. His ''Puksatte Lifu'', "realistic look at life around us", directed by Aravind Kuplikar, completed filming in 2019.