Sanchari Vijay, the Kannada film actor and the recipient of the prestigious National Film Award, died on Tuesday, Bengaluru’s Apollo Hospital confirmed. The actor had met with an accident on Saturday and sustained brain injuries. He died at 3.34 am on Tuesday. 

As the industry is mourning the loss of the fine actor, here’s a 

a look at his journey as an actor:  

His initial years

Vijay was originally from a town in Karnataka called Chikmagalur. His artistic roots were laid out at a young age by his parents who themselves were artists. Before his college education began, Vijay was actually a theatre artist. In an interview, he said that initially his career in acting was restricted to just enacting his favourite roles in front of his friends. During those days he was getting serious about his education. After his graduation with a bachelor’s degree in engineering, Vijay became a lecturer before leaving for Bangalore and becoming a stage actor professionally. 

And so his journey began 

He made his debut in the Kannada movie industry with ‘Rangappa Hogbitna’, a comedy film released in 2011. 

He rose to fame after ‘Nanu Avanalla…Avalu’, a 2015 film written by Living Smile Vidya and based on Vidya’s autobiographical work “I am Vidya”. In the film, Vijay played the lead role of a transgender woman that won him the Best Actor Award at the 62nd National Film Awards. He was the third actor after M V Vasudeva Rao and Charuhasan who had won a National Award for Best Actor in the Kannada film industry. 

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In 2018 he starred in ‘Nathicharami’, another movie that revolved around unconventional topics. Directed by Manso Re, the storyline followed the life of a widow, torn between her growing sexual needs and the desire to remain faithful to her late husband.

He was last seen in Manso Re’s  ‘Act 1978’. The film was about a pregnant widow taking upon the corruption in the bureaucracy and fighting it on her own.