The prestigious 67th National Film Awards honouring Indian films from 2019 are being announced on Monday (October 25) and are organised by the Directorate of Film Festivals, which comes under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Several big and notable names were felicitated with top honours and one among them is leading Tamil film actor Vijay Sethupathi, who received the Best Supporting Actor award from M. Venkaiah Naidu Vice President of India, for his performance in Super Deluxe released in 2019. The announcement of Vijay Sethupathi being adjudged the Best Supporting Actor had come a few months back, with the National Film Awards 2021 felicitation ceremony taking place in the nation's capital today.
Vijay Sethupathi, or 'Makkal Selvan' as he is called lovingly by his ardent fans, had played the role of Shilpa a.k.a Manickam, a transgender woman in Super Deluxe, who returns home to Chennai after many years to reunite with his wife Jyothi played by Gayathrie Shankar and his son Rasukutty portrayed by Ashwanth Ashokkumar. Directed by Thiagarajan Kumararaja and produced jointly under the Tyler Durden and Kino Fist, Alchemy Vision Works and East West Dream Work Entertainment banners and distributed by YNOTX, Super Deluxe is a hyperlink thriller starring Vijay Sethupathi, National Award-winning actor Fahadh Faasil, Samantha, Ramya Krishnan, Tamil film director Mysskin and Gayathrie in the lead roles and features music by Yuvan Shankar Raja.
The latest accolade for Vijay Sethupathi is his first National recognition in his glorious career. He had previously won the Critics' Choice Film Awards presented annually by the American-Canadian Critics Choice Association (CCA) and the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne for Best Actor for his performance in Super Deluxe. Vijay Sethupathi's performance in Super Deluxe continues to be revered by fans as the actor had transformed himself to match the appearance of a transgender woman, while also changing the modulation of his voice for his role in the film.
Below is the video of Vijay Sethupathi receiving the National Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Super Deluxe: