Vinay Forrt

The 'Forrt' in Vinay Forrt's screen name points to Fort Kochi, where he was born Vinay Kumar on 13 January 1983. Before cinema he held jobs at a restaurant, a coffee shop, a medical shop and a call centre, and he acted with Lokadharmi Theater in his first year of college. He later left his degree for the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune, completed a postgraduate course in acting, and received a Government of India National Scholarship as Best Senior Theatre Actor for 2004 to 2006. He is also a contemporary dancer. Shyamaprasad cast him while he was still at FTII, and Ritu (2009) became his first film. His screen work is mostly in Malayalam. Two parts drew wide attention: Nanmayil Suran in Shutter (2012) and Vimal Sir in Alphonse Putharen's Premam, whose lines gained a cult following. Kammatipaadam followed. He led Thamasha (2019) as the professor Srinivasan and played the hero's friend-turned-rival in Mahesh Narayanan's Malik (2021), which critics praised. His 2026 films so far are Dulquer Salmaan's action thriller I'm Game, Pradhama Drishtya Kuttakkar, Bethlehem Kudumba Unit, where he plays Alex, and Avaraachan and Sons, now in cinemas. Don Palathara's Ekadesham, with Vinay in a lead role, heads to Dharamshala for its India premiere after screenings in Aachen, Barcelona and New Zealand.