A. L Vijay, credited by his mononym Vijay, is an Indian film director who works in the Tamil film industry. A disciple of Priyadarshan, he debuted as director with films like Kireedam and critically acclaimed Madrasapattinam. Vijay later directed big budget films Deiva Thirumagal and Thaandavam, starring Vikram in both films. Prior to directing films, Vijay was a successful advertisement filmmaker with his banner Venus Ad Films, completing more than 100 ad films. His State Bank of India commercial won CNBC’s Best Corporate Advertisement Award in 2009. Vijay has claimed that "advertisements teach you how to translate a story idea onto screen with maximum impact in minimum time" and is influenced by the ad works of Priyadarshan, Prahlad Kakkar and Babu Shankar. In 2003, he began his career in feature films by joining Priyadarshan as an assistant director in his films.