Sanchari Vijay was an Indian theatre and film actor who primarily worked in Kannada cinema, in addition to having worked in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films. He started out as a theatre artist from Sanchari, a culture centre and unique theatre, which is also popular as an elegant drama troupe. For his portrayal of a transgender in Naanu Avanalla...Avalu, he was awarded the National Film Award for Best Actor. He was announced brain dead because of injuries sustained from a motorcycle accident on 12 June 2021.